Researchers developed a new method to build bacteriophage DNA. They modelled synthetic DNA after two natural phages that attack Mycobacterium, a group that includes the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy. The team edited these synthetic genomes and published the results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Some phage genomes are hard to build because they have many G and C bases. DNA has four base letters, A, T, C and G. The team built each genome in sections and put the sections into a cell. The cell read the new genome and produced phages. Synthetic genomes could make finding matching phages faster and reduce the need to store many samples.
Difficult words
- bacteriophage — a virus that infects and kills bacteria
- synthetic — made by people, not by nature
- genome — all the genetic information in an organismgenomes
- phage — a virus that attacks bacteriaphages
- base — the letters that make up DNAbases
- edit — changed DNA letters or partsedited
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How could synthetic genomes help scientists in their work?
- Would you want to study genomes or viruses? Why or why not?
- Do you think making phages in a cell is better than storing many samples? Why?
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