Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Gene Synthesis Services


A gene is a locatable region of genomic sequence, corresponding to a unit of inheritance, which is associated with regulatory regions, transcribed regions and/or other functional sequence regions. The physical development and phenotype of organisms can be thought of as a product of genes interacting with each other and with the environment. A concise definition of a gene, taking into account complex patterns of regulation and transcription, genic conservation and non-coding RNA genes, has been proposed by Gerstein et al.

RNA genes and genomes

In some cases, RNA is an intermediate product in the process of manufacturing proteins from genes. However, for other gene sequences, the RNA molecules are the actual functional products. For example, RNAs known as ribozymes are capable of enzymatic function, and miRNAs have a regulatory role. The DNA sequences from which such RNAs are transcribed are known as RNA genes.

Gene Synthesis Services

Nowadays, commercial gene synthesis services are available from hundreds of companies worldwide, with a price often below $1 a base pair. Some expressed concern that such services could be used by terrorists to create new strains of existing viruses/bacterias, or to resurrect extinct biological hazard organisms.

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