Paris: Scientists have created the first man made chromosome for a complex celled organism a feat hailed on Friday as a big step towards acquiring the controversial ability to redesign plants or animals.
A synthetic chromosome was inserted into a brewer's yeast cell, which functioned as normal the key test of success, the international team reported in the journal Science.
“Our research moves the needle in synthetic biology from theory to reality,” said Jef Boeke, director of the New York University’s Institute for Systems Genetics, who was a member of the research team. Yeast is a closely studied representative of the group of eukaryotes, organisms with complex cells that contain a nucleus and other structures enclosed within membranes.
All plants and animals, including humans, have eukaryotic cells.
Chromosomes have previously been synthesised for bacteria, which are simpler, prokaryotic organisms. Yeast is used to make beer, biofuel and medicines, and researc-hers believe it can be made to work efficiently with genetic modification.
