Abstract
Standardization is one of the foundational features of modern-day engineering, and the use of standardized parts and processes is a key element that distinguishes bona fide synthetic biology from traditional genetic engineering. Here, we discuss the role of standardization in natural product synthetic biology, focusing on standardization of data on biosynthetic pathways and gene clusters, as well as the role of standardization in the process of biosynthetic gene cluster engineering.
Highlights
Standardization is one of the foundational features of modern-day engineering, and the use of standardized parts and processes is a key element that distinguishes bona fide synthetic biology from traditional genetic engineering
We discuss the role of standardization in natural product synthetic biology, focusing on standardization of data on biosynthetic pathways and gene clusters, as well as the role of standardization in the process of biosynthetic gene cluster engineering
This endeavor to standardize biological parts and provide standardized descriptions about whatever is variable about them remains a key tenet of synthetic biology
Summary
Our world is highly dependent on standardization. Almost any tool, machine or piece of equipment that we use in daily life conforms to certain standards; anyone who has ever forgotten his travel adapter when visiting a different continent will acknowledge this. Imagine having to change a tire if all screws and bolts were of different shapes and sizes: standards are a key enabling feature for any engineering This clearly applies to biological engineering, or ‘synthetic biology’. Already in 2005, Drew Endy highlighted the need for ‘the development of technologies and the promulgation of standards that support the de nition, description and characterization of the basic biological parts, as well as standard conditions that support the use of parts in combination and overall system operation’.1 This endeavor to standardize biological parts and provide standardized descriptions about whatever is variable about them remains a key tenet of synthetic biology. Standardization is one of the key elements that distinguish bona de synthetic biology from traditional genetic engineering: by enabling modularity and interchangeability of parts, it elevates it from merely tinkering with natural biological systems to conceptual design-based engineering of novel biological devices from standardized parts
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