Putting Synthesis into Biology: A Viral View of Genetic Engineering through De Novo Gene and Genome Synthesis Review Article

The rapid improvements in DNA synthesis technology hold the potential to revolutionize biosciences in the near future. Traditional genetic engineering methods are template dependent and make extensive but laborious use of site-directed mutagenesis to explore the impact of small variations on an existing sequence “theme.” De novo gene and genome synthesis frees the investigator from the restrictions of the pre-existing template and allows for the rational design of any conceivable new sequence theme.