Pathway Engineering Through 5 kb Gene Synthesis

A rapid design-build-test cycle is vital to metabolic engineering applications in which researchers re-program microorganisms to produce non-native molecules of interest. To produce these molecules, researchers typically add one gene or an entire pathway of genes into a host organism. These genes encode proteins or enzymes that, when expressed in a microbial host, convert a common substrate into a molecule of interest. Using microbial synthesis as an alternative to chemical synthesis or extraction can yield the same compounds more quickly, at a lower cost, and with fewer environmental impacts.