The creation of a virus made entirely of artificial genes has been completed

American scientists say that they have succeeded in creating a virus that protects artificially in the laboratory. It is a virus known as Phi-X174 that attacks bacteria and is widely used in molecular biology research

American scientists say that they have succeeded in creating a virus that protects artificially in the laboratory. It is a virus known as Phi-X174 that attacks bacteria and is widely used in molecular biology research.
The genetic code of the virus is known to scientists and they were able to create a copy of it from artificial genes that were put together in the laboratory and get a viable virus. The breakthrough of engineering artificial viruses may open a door to the treatment of incurable diseases and serve as a new tool in research.
The team was headed by Craig Venter, who was also involved in the Human Genome Project.
Earlier, other researchers were able to synthesize genes using an enzyme that occurs naturally in cells. However, the process took years and in the end viruses were created with defects in the synthetic genetic code.
Geneticist Craig Venter led the team in an effort to improve the speed and accuracy of gene synthesis. Venter and his colleagues from the Institute for Alternative Energy of Biological Origin, adopted common methods - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and developed one of these chains called (polymerase cycle assembly (PCA) to reconstruct the genome of the Phi-X.
PCA is a technique that produces duplicate copies of genome sequences, an ideal process for genome assembly.
The researchers assembled several parts of the virus's genome from oligonucleotides - small pieces of rhinoceros DNA.
After linking these pieces so that there was sequence overlap, they used PCA to complete the construction of the two-footed viral genome.
The entire process, which took 14 days, produced viral DNA identical to the natural one in its genetic code.
The synthetic bacteriophage behaved exactly like the natural one. It had the ability to attack and kill bacterial cells and was indistinguishable from the natural virus.
The scientists said that although the method is limited to simple creatures, the possibility of accurately synthesizing long segments of DNA can contribute to understanding the role of specific genes, and perhaps in the future it will also be possible to assemble the genome of more complex creatures.

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