Synthetic biology consortium

At Macquarie University’s Genome Assembly Centre we aim to lead Australia in a new innovative branch of Biological Sciences called Synthetic Biology. The exciting new field of Synthetic biology is dedicated to designing and constructing new sequences of DNA, including sequences not known to be found in nature. These sequences have the potential to increase the efficiency of existing biological functions and systems and create new biological functions and systems – even new organisms.

Synthetic biology represents the next transformative phase of the biological sciences and is made possible by developments in many fields that contribute to synthetic biology — including genome sequencing, computing, nanotechnology and significant improvements to various laboratory techniques. In particular, the development over the last 20 years of systems biology — the study of large systems composed of tens, hundreds or thousands of genes and their interactions using ‘omics tools — has inspired confidence in the potential for synthetic biology research to produce important and transformative breakthroughs. Systems biology, inspired by the scientific advances in molecular biology (1970-80s) and, foundationally, by microbiology, biochemistry and genetics (1950-60’s) is the next era of advancement in the biological sciences and is ripe with opportunities.

Synthetic biology is increasingly used to produce many types of products that will help create jobs, contribute to competitiveness, and improve the health and wellbeing of people internationally.