3 ms·
From my perspective of paying attention to some of the articles that have been coming out over the years and reading into the science a bit, one of the big fact
by pharke 6y ago
From my perspective of paying attention to some of the articles that have been coming out over the years and reading into the science a bit, one of the big factors seems to be identifying all of the genes necessary for supporting the pathway that synthesizes these compounds. If you are only producing a single protein that is coded for by a stretch of DNA it is fairly straightforward to insert that into bacteria. If what you want to do involves multiple steps carried out by enzymes to transform one molecule into another then you have quite a different challenge. It's the difference between extraction of raw materials vs. building a supply chain that takes those raw materials and refines them and combines them into finished goods.
- toufka 6y agoThis is a good assessment. And Dr. Smolke (the author) is actually at the very forefront of combining and mixing up many pathways in one system to create a new compound. Her skill at engineering multiple pathways at the same time is at the edge of the state of the art. So that can be taken two ways - either she's one of very few who can do it, so she's overconfident in how well others can follow. Or, she is uniquely aware of the challenges yet sees a path through them heading into the future.