From Designing the Molecules of Life to Designing Life: Future Applications Derived from Advances in DNA Technologies

Abstract

Abstract Since the elucidation of its structure, DNA has been at the forefront of biological research. In the past half century, an explosion of DNA‐based technology development has occurred with the most rapid advances being made for DNA sequencing. In parallel, dramatic improvements have also been made in the synthesis and editing of DNA from the oligonucleotide to the genome scale. In this Review, we will summarize four different subfields relating to DNA technologies following this trajectory of smaller to larger scale. We begin by talking about building materials out of DNA which in turn can act as delivery vehicles in vivo. We then discuss how altering microbial genomes can lead to novel methods of production for industrial biologics. Next, we talk about the future of writing whole genomes as a method of studying evolution. Lastly, we highlight the ways in which barcoding biological systems will allow for their three‐dimensional analysis in a highly multiplexed fashion.