Applications Of Gene Synthesis You Should Be Aware Of

Synthetic gene production is an alternative to the traditional gene cloning method and entails the production of gene fragments in vitro using chemical processes. The process has revolutionized molecular biology by allowing researchers to source and manipulate genes further up the tree of life.

Gene Synthesis has multiple advantages, including facilitating modifications to create novel genes, high throughput of genetic fragments at unprecedented speeds, efficiency, and lower costs. Consequently, the process is the basis for multiple applications in molecular biology, medicine, and beyond. Below is an overview of some synthetic gene production industrial applications.

Protein And Peptide Synthesis

The peptides and proteins produced via biosynthesis in living organisms serve various crucial functions, including structural support, transportation, and enzymes catalyzing cell reactions. However, while peptides are protein building blocks and proteins are the body's building blocks, both gene products serve multiple functions outside the body.

Such applications include enzymatic assay tests like the enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) test, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Such assay tests are crucial in disease detection and establishing protein-protein or peptide-peptide interactions during research.

Moreover, protein-based cleaning products made in the detergent industry function as pre-soaking agents for organic strains like blood. Also, the beauty industry lacks protein beauty products for skin and hair care.

Therefore, a steady supply of high-quality, stable proteins is necessary to sustain the highlighted industry demands for proteins. Protein transcription and translation rely on the instructions in a genetic code. Therefore, gene synthesis is necessary for recombinant peptide and protein production.

Moreover, gene synthesis facilitates gene fragment modifications that alter and improve native protein properties or generate novel recombinant proteins and peptides. One market report shows that the recombinant protein production industry is worth USD 1.4 billion.

Vaccine Design

Vaccines are at the core of preventative medicine; vaccine interventions have eliminated some diseases and protected populations from mass fatalities. A case in point is the 2019 COVID outbreak. One expert review highlights that coronavirus vaccines are 90% efficacious against symptomatic infections and 100% against moderate and severe disease onset.

The vaccine design technology has come a long way from whole-organism inoculation to antigen fragments and structural vaccinology, thanks to advances in immunology and genomics. Whole organism inoculation entailed immunization using a whole antigen (pathogenic organism) to trigger an immune response. However, antigen fragment immunization substitutes the whole organism with antigen epitope fragments, reducing the risk of hyperactive immune responses.

On the other hand, structural vaccinology is a genome-based approach combined with structural biology to facilitate antigen discovery, structure, and mechanism of action. Gene synthesis facilitates the production of the recombinant gene fragments necessary to create antigen fragments and research into innovative vaccine designs.

Therapeutics

Therapeutics is a branch of medicine focusing on disease prevention, treatment, and management to promote healing or manage symptoms like pain. It features interventions like drug therapy, surgery, psychiatry, or novel treatments like radiation and chemotherapy for cancer treatment and gene therapy.

Gene therapy is a new-age therapeutic strategy for treating genetic illnesses, including cancer. It entails replacing defective or malformed genes in a living cell with normal-functioning genes to restore normal cell function. Stem cell therapy is an example of gene therapy and relies on gene synthesis to develop normal-functioning recombinant genes.

Second, viral-mediated gene replacement therapy is also an emerging new-age gene therapy. It entails using modified viral vectors as drug delivery channels. The vectors introduce a targeted gene sequence into the encoding genes in a cell, altering the cell’s genetic code, including biosynthetic protein production. Gene synthesis supplies the recombinant genes necessary for gene therapy and other therapeutic processes that rely on recombinant gene products.

Genetic Engineering

While gene therapy restores normal gene function in a cell, genetic engineering completely alters the normal genetic function of an organism’s cell using novel gene sequences. It entails using recombinant gene technology to manipulate and modify the recombinant nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).

Recombinant gene products undergo modifications during genetic engineering to strengthen their structure and increase stability, making them better candidates for such manipulation. Genetic engineering magnifies the desirable characteristics in an organism’s genetic sequence, such as disease resistance and size.

The process helps to generate high-yield crops that are disease and drought-resistant, lowering farmer input costs in the agricultural sector while promoting income generation for farmers and food security for the rest of the world. Moreover, genetically-modified plants serving industries outside the food industry, like textiles, also improve product quality and quantity within such industries. However, recombinant gene production plays a crucial role in genetic engineering.

Clinical Research

Clinical research is a field of medicine that entails researching human volunteers (sick and healthy) to advance medical knowledge. The research field has two primary functions.

First, it enables the researcher to understand disease pathogenesis or progression from initial biomarkers to adverse symptoms. Second, it helps establish the efficacy of various therapeutic interventions and treatments against specific diseases.

The knowledge derived from clinical research guides the release of new courses of treatment into the mainstream healthcare system. It also guides decision-making and the implementation of healthcare policies to provide the best care for all patients. Gene synthesis helps generate the custom peptides and proteins necessary for clinical research, including assay test kits.

Conclusion:

Gene synthesis has revolutionized biotechnology by facilitating the production of recombinant gene products. Moreover, the process continues getting traction outside medical fields and enriches lives through efficacious products.