Synthetic Biology: Major Principles and Current Trends of Development in Russia

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field of science and technology aimed at developing methods and approaches to design and construct living systems at different levels of their organization based on engineering principles. The work describes the main characteristics of synthetic biology, one of the most promising and interesting directions in the biological sciences. We review in detail the modern methods and approaches used by synthetic biologists to create new types of biological systems, their functional units, and components. Particular attention is paid to actions to stimulate the development of synthetic biology in Russia. This requires wider application of the process approach and engineering principles, the formation of a centralized depository of functional genetic elements, standardization of the components and procedures used, deeper analysis of the genomes of organisms from bioresource collections and the subsequent storage of information in the National Genomic Information Database, and intensification of the development of equipment for high-throughput DNA synthesis.