Development of a Flexible, Versatile and Fully Interchangeable Genetic Engineering Platform (SnapFast) by Oxford Genetics Ltd

现代生物学和医学研究高度依赖于基因工程（即脱氧核糖核酸（DNA）的修饰）。DNA是编码所有基因的分子，这些基因构成了一个单独的有机体。它的修饰已经彻底改变了生物医学研究，特别是在疫苗学、肿瘤学、免疫学和微生物学领域。对于大多数研究目的，DNA需要被工程化才能有用。基因工程的既定方法包括获得一个“骨干”DNA片段，然后设计策略，用酶对其进行修饰，并将其与其他DNA片段连接起来，以适应特定研究项目的需要。这是一项复杂而艰巨的任务，如果研究方向发生变化，通常很难改变DNA构建体，使其具有新的功能，而不购买新的“骨架”并从头开始这一过程。牛津遗传学公司打算开发世界上最灵活和最具创新性的遗传工程平台，使科学家能够顺序修改他们的DNA构建体，以适应他们新兴的研究需求。通过使用“盒”系统，DNA片段可以很容易地改变，从而允许简单地生产所需的构建体，而不必重新开始。这种“基因乐高”将大大节省研究预算，并通过让科学家获得数百个现成的DNA盒来加速他们的工作，这些DNA盒可以很容易地插入他们的构建体中。因此，该公司的商业战略是基于诱饵和钩模型。我们的系统将比我们的竞争对手有多方面的优势，而且还没有其他生物技术公司采用这种方法进行基因工程。牛津遗传学公司相信，它可以在基因工程技术中引入一个台阶式的变化，提供更有效、更便宜、更容易使用的DNA，并可以在一个非常大的、不断扩大的市场中占据相当大的份额。

Modern biological and medical research is highly dependent on genetic engineering (i.e. themodification of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid, DNA). DNA is the molecule that encodes all ofthe genes which make an individual organism. Its modification has revolutionised biomedicalresearch, particularly in the fields of vaccinology, oncology, immunology and microbiology.For most research purposes DNA needs to be engineered in order to be useful. The establishedmethod of genetic engineering involves obtaining a 'backbone' piece of DNA and thendesigning strategies to modify it with enzymes and join it to other pieces of DNA to suit theneeds of the particular research project. This is a complex and laborious task, and if thedirection of the research changes it is often difficult to change the DNA construct to have anew functionality, without purchasing a new 'backbone' and starting the process from scratch.Oxford Genetics intends to develop the world’s most flexible and innovative geneticengineering platform that allows scientists to sequentially modify their DNA constructs to suittheir emerging research needs. By using a 'cassette' system, pieces of DNA can be easilychanged, allowing simple production of desired constructs without having to start again. This‘genetic Lego’ will make a major saving to research budgets and accelerate the work ofscientists by giving them access to hundreds of ready-made DNA cassettes that can easily slotinto their constructs. As such, the company’s business strategy is based on a bait and hookmodel. Our system will have multiple advantages over our competitors and no otherbiotechnology company has yet taken this approach to genetic engineering. Oxford Geneticsbelieves it can introduce a step-change in genetic engineering technologies, providing moreefficient, cheaper and easier to use DNA, and can capture a substantial share of a very largeand expanding market.