Full PDF: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/353/6301/819.full.pdf http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/353/6301/819.full.... This paper is cool be

Full PDF: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/353/6301/819.full.pdf http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/353/6301/819.full.... This paper is cool because they've optimized the E. coli genome to entirely eliminate certain codons, which would, for example, prohibit infection by viruses that depend on particular codons. It also frees up codons for other usage, including novel tRNA complexes. The paper mentions the authors have validated 55 recoded segments of 50kb each. At ~$0.10/bp that would cost $577,500 for the DNA alone, though the authors likely paid less or synthesized the fragments in-house. This is somewhat related to codon optimization, which is typically employed when genes are added to an organism to enhance expression, since codon usage bias[1] varies by host organism. If you modify an inserted gene so its codons match the dominant synonymous tRNA present, you'll see higher expression of the gene product. If you're engineering E. coli to produce insulin, your bioreactor will produce more of it for a given amount of feedstock. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codon_usage_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codon_usage_bias