While scientists have been able to identify the 485 working genes in the Mycoplasma genitalium bacteria used in the J. Craig Venter Institute research, they still don’t know which of those genes are essential for the organism to sustain life. It is the researchers’ hope that someday they will be able to construct the genomes from a program that lists each piece of DNA based on the proposed outcome, using the fewest genes required in order to accomplish the mission.
On the heels of the 2007 transplant success, the Venter researchers used yeast and E. Coli cells to create duplicate pieces of DNA material in the laboratory through the use of the four amino acids, adenine, guanine, cytosine and thiamine, and assembling them into an entirely laboratory-made chromosome. Members in the scientific community expect that 2008 will see a successful transplant of the synthetic genome, opening the door for bioengineers to design and produce organisms for specificsingular functions