MaxSynBio: Avenues Towards Creating Cells from the Bottom Up

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Oct 8;57(41):13382-13392. doi: 10.1002/anie.201802288. Epub 2018 Sep 17.

Abstract

A large German research consortium mainly within the Max Planck Society ("MaxSynBio") was formed to investigate living systems from a fundamental perspective. The research program of MaxSynBio relies solely on the bottom-up approach to synthetic biology. MaxSynBio focuses on the detailed analysis and understanding of essential processes of life through modular reconstitution in minimal synthetic systems. The ultimate goal is to construct a basic living unit entirely from non-living components. The fundamental insights gained from the activities in MaxSynBio could eventually be utilized for establishing a new generation of biotechnological processes, which would be based on synthetic cell constructs that replace the natural cells currently used in conventional biotechnology.

Keywords: biotechnology; bottom-up design; microfluidics; protocells; synthetic biology.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't