Synthetic Biology

Accelerate your synthetic biology breakthroughs using NGS

What is Synthetic Biology

What is Synthetic Biology?

Synthetic biology integrates multiple scientific disciplines. It combines molecular biology, genetics, systems biology, evolutionary biology, and biophysics with chemical, biological, and computational engineering. The goal of synthetic biology is to create new or redesigned biological systems. The resulting synthetic biological systems have potentially revolutionary applications in research, industry, and medicine. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technology plays a key role in providing researchers with quick and cost-efficient solutions to enable the creation of improved biological functions.

Synthetic Biology Applications

There are a diverse range of synthetic biology applications. Antibody and vaccine production, biofuel production, agricultural bioengineering, microbial engineering, and food production are just a few of the applications that are made possible through the study and practice of synthetic biology. NGS technology equips researchers with complete genomic sequences for modifying or creating artificial biological systems. Genomic sequencing enables the identification of novel biological systems and the confidence that these systems match their intended designs.

Antibody Discovery & NGS

Antibody discovery empowers new diagnostics and therapeutics. NGS enables comprehensive assessment of antibody library diversity, a critical metric for successful antibody development.

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Microbial Engineering

Microbial engineering enables the repurposing of existing bacteria and yeast for uses in improving crop yields, soil remediation, wastewater decontamination, custom probiotic feed for livestock, and more.

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Improving Agriculture Through Synthetic Biology

NGS-based technologies are making important strides in selecting wheat phenotypes that improve yield, waste management, and tolerance to biological and environmental stresses.

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Sequencing SARS-CoV-2

Learn how NGS was essential in sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome and how it paved the way for an mRNA-based vaccine.

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Reconstructing SARS-CoV-2 Using Synthetic Genomics

To facilitate rapid responses to variants, read how researchers generated chemically synthesized SARS-CoV-2 clones and characterized them using NGS.

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Advances in Vaccines

See how researchers are harnessing the discovery power of NGS to build better vaccines against COVID-19 and more.

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CRISPR & Synthetic Biology

CRISPR & Synthetic Biology

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology is a revolutionary method for targeted genome editing. The speed, simplicity, and precision of CRISPR genome editing makes it an ideal tool in the field of synthetic biology. Integrating CRISPR genome editing with the informational power of NGS enables researchers to have complete control throughout their editing experiment, resulting in a better understanding of the biological systems they are modifying.

Learn more about CRISPR genome editing

Featured Synthetic Biology Articles and Publications

Gene Editing Research Review
Gene Editing Research Review

CRISPR-Cas9 is a recently developed genome editing technique that allows scientists to perform precise genomic manipulation quickly and conveniently. This review highlights recent publications that demonstrate the use of genomic technologies and high-throughput sequencing in CRISPR-Cas9 experiments.

Engineering Bacteria for Plastic Production
Engineering Bacteria for Plastic Production

Researchers have engineered a soil bacterium that can digest a polymer in plant cell walls. See how this enables researchers to produce a biodegradable alternative for plastic.

The Earth BioGenome Project Builds Foundation to Sequence Life
The Earth BioGenome Project Builds Foundation to Sequence Life

Explore NGS applications that deliver high-quality results to accelerate research on various complex diseases, including neurodegenerative, psychological, and autoimmune disorders.

Featured Products for Synthetic Biology Studies

MiSeq System
MiSeq Sequencing System

With the MiSeq System you can access focused applications such as targeted resequencing, metagenomics, small genome sequencing, targeted gene expression profiling, and more.

NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System
NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System

Access scalable flexibility to sequence the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome of engineered mammalian and plant systems.

Illumina DNA Prep
Illumina DNA Prep

Apply the fastest and most flexible Illumina library prep for whole-genome sequencing of virtually any engineered biological system.

New to NGS?
New to NGS?

Synthetic biology requires precise knowledge of the genetic sequence to be engineered at a scale and depth beyond the capabilities of traditional sequencing technologies. In addition to providing the throughput, scalability, and speed needed to rapidly sequence whole genomes, NGS enables researchers to interrogate the transcriptome and epigenome to fully characterize newly created synthetic biological systems.

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Illumina Accelerator for Synthetic Biology

Synthetic Biology Startup Funding

Illumina Accelerator provides extensive mentorship, financial support, and access to sequencing systems, reagents, and lab space to help genomics-driven startups launch. By partnering with Illumina, startups will advance breakthrough applications in synthetic biology. Startups based in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA and Cambridge, UK can apply for synthetic biology funding via the link below.

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Interested to learn how NGS can augment your synthetic biology workflow?

Related Solutions

Microbiology
Microbial Sequencing Methods

NGS-based microbial sequencing methods include shotgun metagenomics, 16S rRNA sequencing, whole-genome and de novo sequencing, and transcriptomics.

Genomics in Drug Development
NGS for Drug Development

Illumina provides an innovative portfolio of NGS systems, products, and services for many phases of the drug development pipeline.

Complex Disease Genomics
Complex Disease Genomics

Explore NGS applications that deliver high-quality results to accelerate research on various complex diseases, including neurodegenerative, psychological, and autoimmune disorders.

Immunology Research
Immunology Research

Gain insight into the immune repertoire, disease mechanisms, and the functional impact of immune-related genetic variation with NGS and array solutions.

Synthetic Biology FAQ

To confirm your constructs, you can use next-generation sequencing (NGS) to provide a high-throughput, scalable, and accurate approach to validate your targets, whether it is DNA, RNA, or both. To learn more about NGS, visit our page below:

Confirming your constructs through next-generation sequencing is an essential step in validating the accuracy of edited genes. However, it is important to consider other aspects of your biological system. Examples include analyzing off-target effects, confirming deletions, and determining how edited genes are modified. For information related to genome editing, such as using CRISPR/Cas9, visit our page below to learn how NGS can optimize your synthetic biology experiments:

Generally, your NGS workflow's main steps include library preparation, sequencing, and data analysis. Illumina has helpful guides and pages for these steps, as well as an overview of the workflow steps here:

Illumina offers flexible NGS platforms with exceptional quality, accuracy, and speed for various throughput capabilities. Visit our Sequencing Platform page to find sequencing platforms that best suit your needs.

There are many considerations in estimating the cost of using NGS for synthetic biology. Illumina offers a dedicated page that provides a cost breakdown for a wide array of NGS applications to suit your budget, including flexible purchasing options. Visit our Planning your NGS Budget page or contact us for more information to get started.