A DNA printer for gene synthesis and synthetic biology

NSERC RTI申请申请资金购买台式DNA合成器，用于“打印”合成生物学应用的长DNA片段。合成生物学可以被认为是分子乐高，具有特定功能的DNA片段被组装成越来越大的具有特定功能的“机器”。合成生物学应用的一些例子是为生产天然产品构建遗传途径，构建人工质粒或染色体，以及构建控制基因表达的遗传开关。所有合成生物学的基础都是快速准确地合成长DNA片段的要求。所要求的设备代表了最先进的台式DNA合成技术，允许研究人员一次“打印”多达32个DNA片段。所要求的DNA打印机比使用商业来源更节省成本和时间。DNA打印机将使西大一大批研究人员的研究项目成为可能，并使我们的研究学员能够接触到最新的合成生物学技术，为他们未来的成功奠定基础。

This NSERC RTI application is requesting funds to purchase a bench-top DNA synthesizer to “print” long DNA fragments for synthetic biology applications. Synthetic biology can be thought of as molecular lego, where segments of DNA with defined functions are assembled to build larger and larger “machines” with defined functions. Some examples of synthetic biology applications are building genetic pathways for production of natural products, to build artificial plasmids or chromosomes, and to build genetic switches to control gene expression. Underlying all of synthetic biology is the requirement to rapidly and accurately synthesize long DNA fragments. The requested equipment represents the state-of-the-art in benchtop DNA synthesis, allowing allow researchers to “print” up to 32 DNA fragments at a time. The requested DNA printer is more cost and time effective than using commercial sources. The DNA printer will enable the research projects of a large group of researchers at Western University, and allow our research trainees unparalleled access to the latest synthetic biology technology, positioning them for future success.