Roots of Synthetic Biology:   [disassembly (reductionism) and then reconstitution]
                                         
    
   1955 - Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat:   components of TMV* - are separated & reconstituted in the lab.  
   1972 - Yasuo Kagawa & Efraim Racker (Cornell):   reconstitutes electron transfer membrane
                         fragments that function normally in oxidative phosphorylation.  ref: 
   1974 - Dieter Oesterheldt & L Schumann:   reconstitute bacteriorhodopsin* a proton pump 
                         of the purple membranes of Halobacterium pumps H+ out of bacteria in response to light.
   1974 - Efraim Racker & W. Stoekenius:   reconstitute Halobacterium* membranes vesicles
                         with the light driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, & mitochondrial ATP synthase
                         to make ATP synthetically in lab, proving Peter Mitchell's chemiosmosis hypothesis.
    1993 - David Deamer:   makes artificial membrane vesicles* with active ribosomes
                         mRNA for GFP & α-hemolysin (a channel protein that allowed external
                         amino acids & ATP to enter vesicles) that made these proteins.
   2002-2005 -   a number of viruses* (polio, Phi-X-174, & Spanish flu) were reconstituted artificially
                         from know genome sequences and off the shelf chemicals & were infective.
   2010 - J. Craig Venter:  replaces the genome of one Mycoplasma bacterial species with a
                         synthetic chromosome and these new cells were capable of self replication.
   2015 - Galanie et al of C. Smolke's lab at Stanford have engineered biochemical pathways in
                         yeast cells using enzymes from plants, animals, & bacteria to convert sugars into
                         opioids.     Science DOI: 10.1126/science.aac9373 - Aug 13, 2015.
    
    back                         References:

 

 

 

 

References:
 
Oesterhelt D., Stoeckenius W. (1971) Rhodopsin-like protein from the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium. Nat. New Biol. 233, 149–152
E. Racker: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - Biochem Biophys Res Commun, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 1120-1125, 1970
Racker, E., and Stoeckenius, W. (1974) Reconstitution of purple membrane vesicles catalyzing light-driven proton uptake and adenosine triphosphate formation. J. Biol. Chem. 249, 662–663
Noireaux,V. & Libchaber,A.  A vesicle bioreactor as a step toward an artificial cell assembly. Proc Nat Acad Sci: 2004 Dec 21-101(51):17669-17674
Science Express / www.sciencexpress.org / 20 May 2010 / Page 1 / 10.1126/science.1190719 (venter et al)