Abby Marks

Bioethics Blog: Can scientists create life from scratch? Yeast: Not just for bread?
Topic of Discussion: To what extent should the creation of living organisms (yeast), where the DNA is
completely manufactured by humans, be considered ethical?

For many years, scientists have been working to make changes within DNA codes of various genes. With
various experiments, they aim to create custom-built DNA from scratch in order to develop living
organisms. Jef Boeke, a research at New York University is working to develop and modify the genetics
of the yeast genome. Knowing this, I then ask: Can this process be transferred into living cells? Can we
create an entirely new organism or species? Can it go even further and help provide treatment for
disease?

A genome is the complete genetic coding of a living thing or organism. In this case, scientists are working
to reconstruct the genome of yeast. This modified yeast could be used to develop painkillers, biofuel,
more nutritious bread and cheaper, better quality beer. In fact, yeast shares a quarter of its genes with
humans and this may allow scientists to develop DNA to prevent serious diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
However, this is debateable as to whether creating this genetically modified yeast could lead to further
problems.

Chromosomes are strings of genes that contain and carry the instructions, or genetic information for all
the functions within a cell. In a yeast cell there are 16 pairs chromosomes (there are 23 in a human). The
development of the genes took over 7 years to complete and consisted of over 100 students in a
program. “Boeke compared the job to writing a book, where every letter of the book is a DNA base
pair. 50 to 75 base-pair letters were combined into words. Those words were strung together into
paragraphs consisting of 750 to 1,000 base pairs. The paragraphs were combined into 3,000-word
pages, and then the pages were assembled into 11 separate chapters of genetic code” (NBC, 2014) In
the end, more than 500 different genetic changes
were made.

Boeke and his team used various computer

programs to design the codes of different
chromosomes. “They omitted some sequences
found in naturally occurring yeast chromosomes,
such as repetitive parts of the genome, in hopes of
increasing the stability of the synthetic versions.”
(Nature, 2017). Boeke and his scientists were able
to add a specific chemical to the yeast, where
certain parts are able to rearrange themselves in
various combinations. This allowed them to
develop a scrambling system⎯ when triggered, can
rearrange, duplicate, and delete its genes at
random. They have been able to make structural
changes to the nucleus of the yeast to synthesize it.
Researchers at the University of Texas found 414
yeast genes that are necessary for survival and
growth. They then took these genes and tried
replacing them with human genes that replicated
similar functions. With various experiments they
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were able to determine that 176 of the genes could be humanized. The success with the modifying of
yeast genes has also been able to help scientists better their understand of human genes.

The man-made yeast chromosome represents 3% of the DNA that makes a full yeast gene. Yeast are
single-celled creatures, similar to bacteria, but with much more complex DNA. Yeast is categorized into
the eukaryotic group, which are complex living things from plants to humans. They have been able to
correct the DNA to produce medicine, biofuels and other chemicals. “The fact that yeast cells with
different synthetic chromosomes grow normally also shows that evolution has provided us with only
one blueprint for life and through this work, and other work around recoding genomes, we are now
beginning to realise that there may be many different genomic blueprints for life.” (Daily Mail, 2017)
Paul Freemont, a Professor at the Centre for Synthetic Biology stated. Synthetic human DNA, created in
the same way as the yeast could be used to replace “faulty” DNA that causes disease which eventually
could lead to creating a whole new genetically modified human.

This is where we see a debate⎯ Is it ethical to create a human that is powered by a synthetic genome?
Various biologists, environmentalists and bioethicists have expressed their concerns towards these
synthetic genes. Some believe that genetical modified plants or animals might cause damage to the
environment if they are released without being controlled. “You can think of it like introducing an
invasive species into a different environment, it will have some type of impact to the system” (NPR,
2017) says a researcher at North Carolina State University. If a genetically modified species is placed into
our environment, it’s unpredictable as to how it will adapt and react with others. Additionally, people
are in fear that terrorist groups will get a hold of this new technology and use it to create and develop
new biological weapons. Gene synthesis technology is becoming more widely available and an extremely
dangerous biological weapon can be made with just a small sample of this equipment. This is very
dangerous towards society, as scientists are only using it to further understand and develop human
biology, but if placed in the wrong hands can cause severe problems.

Experimenting with yeast is one thing, but when looking at it on a huge scale, human genes can go
through the same process. Various people have expressed their strong concerns towards the creation of
a synthetic human. "The biggest concern is people are worried that our goal is to make a synthetic
human — a human powered by a synthetic genome" (NPR, 2017). This is again where I question if this
becomes a social concern in society. It may lead to the point where people want to start modifying their
DNA to alter the genes of their children, etc. Today’s society is extremely vulnerable when it comes to
their DNA and genes, however if this new advanced technology becomes introduced, many people will
start to see the need for genetic modification. This is where this technology and process is looked at as
socially ethical because many families will be fortunate to be given the opportunity to reduce the
disease in their genes as where others will take advantage of the technology. As this technology
advances, it has the ability to replace faulty DNA that causes diseases such as cystic fibrosis and down
syndrome. This is revolutionary and these diseases will become less common if people allow for their
DNA to go through the modification process. Other people will want to take advantage of the
technology and use it to change unnecessary features such as looks. This again will become a social
concern because If the technology gets out of hand, serious damages could arise. As well, if it isn’t
completely developed, it could cause extreme harm to that person’s DNA and create completely
different health problems.

In my opinion, I believe that the genetic modification of yeast genomes is completely ethical.
Experimenting with the yeast does not develop any prominent problems and its main focus is to help
scientists better understand human biology. However, when this technology is transferred to a human,
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the ethical implications become much more real. I feel that this technology should be allowed in today’s
society if the following conditions are considered: it will only be used for beneficial purposes such as
curing disease and will only be used in controlled environments by professional scientists and
researchers. The technology cannot be distributed outside of labs as there are many problems
appearing such as biological weapons. If this technology gets into the wrong hands, there could be
problems even more severe than synthetic humans. As well, this synthetic technology can be used to
create biofuels which could replace petrol and jet fuel. These solutions are essentially just ways for
humans to dig themselves out of their own holes. They require these biofuels because of all of the
damage that they have caused to the environment with pollution. Humans look for an easy escape to all
of their problems and one of them being the environmental impact of fuels. In this case, by using
biofuels, they are taking the easy way out and ignoring all of the currently existing and long term
problems. This is the same with the synthetic humans, if the refuse to face the serious problems such as
devastating diseases, and abuse this technology for personal or harmful benefits. There is not one set
solution in solving the social problems due to the great advantages however, developing genetically
modified genes comes with ethical implications and whether or not it is considered right to mistreat
these advancements. There are obvious benefits to all of this technology and it should be used to rid of
social concerns as long as it’s placed into the correct hands.

“We continue to believe that synthetic biology advances will form the basis for a new world economy
and will positively impact all aspects of society." (NBC, 2014). Socially speaking, there are huge
benefits and overall this technology is extremely revolutionary and will do many tremendous things
for science and society and I believe that the creation of living organisms (yeast or human genome),
where the DNA is completely manufactured by humans is a valuable development.

Word Count: 1500

Sources:
French:
1) Minet, Pascaline. (2014). Un Chromosome artificiel fabriqué en laboratoire. Le temps.ch.
Recherche et extrait le 13 avril 2018 de https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/un-chromosome-
artificiel-fabrique-laboratoire
2) n/a. (2014). Le premier être vivant doté d’un ADN artificiel. Lemonde.fr. Recherche et extrait le
13 avril 2018 de http://www.lemonde.fr/festival/article/2014/09/11/le-premier-etre-vivant-
dote-d-un-adn-artificiel_4486089_4415198.html
3) n/a. (2008). Une première : le génome d'un organisme vivant intégralement reconstruit. Futura-
sciences. Recherche et extrait le 13 avril 2018 de https://www.futura-
sciences.com/sante/actualites/genetique-premiere-genome-organisme-vivant-integralement-
reconstruit-14374/

English:
4) n/a. (2014). NBC News. Gene Gurus Create Synthetic Yeast Chromosome From Scratch. Retrieved
on April 15th, 2017 from: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/gene-gurus-create-
synthetic-yeast-chromosome-scratch-n63316
5) Maxmen, Amy. (2017). Nature. Synthetic Yeast Chromosomes Help Probe Mysteries of Evolution.
Retrieved on April 15th, 2017 from: https://www.nature.com/news/synthetic-yeast-
chromosomes-help-probe-mysteries-of-evolution-1.21615
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6) Stein, Rob. (2017). National Public Radio. Scientists Closer to Creating a Fully Synthetic Yeast
Genome. Retrieved on April 15th, 2017 from: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-
shots/2017/03/09/518990577/scientists-closer-to-creating-a-fully-synthetic-yeast-genome
7) Boyle, Alan. (2015). NBC News. It’s Alive! Yeast With Human DNA Raises New Genetic
Possibilities. Retrieved on April 15th, 2017 from: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-
news/yeast-human-dna-raises-new-genetic-possibilities-n362861
8) Allen, Victoria. (2017). Daily Mail. Scientists are a step closer to creating artificial life after
building yeast DNA from scratch for the first time. Retrieved on April 15th, 2017 from:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4298238/Scientists-create-synthetic-life-
building-yeast-DNA.html
9) Diep, Francie. (2014). Popular Science. In Most Ambitious DNA Building Project Ever, Scientists
Make An Artificial Yeast Chromosome. Retrieved on April 15th, 2017 from:
https://www.popsci.com/article/science/most-ambitious-dna-building-project-ever-scientists-
build-artificial-yeast