Box 1: Defining the Synthetic Yeast Research Landscape
Synthetic Biology: The design and construction of new biological parts (genes), devices (gene networks) and modules (biosynthetic pathways), and the redesign of biological systems (cells and organisms) to achieve human objectives.
Biophysical Engineering: Synthetic Biology tools, techniques and methodologies that adapt engineering and design thinking to biological substrates in order to control and actuate the physical characteristics associated with that substrate. For example, chemical synthesis, feedstock refactoring and biomass optimisation.
Bioinformational Engineering: Synthetic Biology tools, techniques and methodologies that adapt engineering and design thinking to biological substrates in order to control and actuate the informational characteristics associated with that substrate. For example, optogenetics, biosensors and bioelectrochemistry.
Synthetic Yeast Genome: The use of Synthetic Biology to design and build a fully functional genome.
Synthetic Model System: An in silico model of a biological system that enables the rapid prototyping of engineering designs via a Computer Assisted Design tool. It may enable the user to work at different abstractions of a biological system. For example, genes, gene networks, biosynthetic pathways, or biological systems.
Synthetic Cell: An internationally collaborative research program that seeks to remove current biological unknowns and achieve an end state where biological functionality can be entirely designed via Computer Assisted Design and Synthetic Model System solutions.
Synthetic Minimal Genome: A design methodology that removes unnecessary genetic elements from natural or model organisms to optimise productive capacity for a target growth environment.
Synthetic Metagenome: A synthetic genome that encodes multi-species genetic information from a point-of-interest. For example, a synthetic yeast that contains the code for all naturally occurring yeast species at a given vineyard.
Supernumerary Neochromosome: An additional chromosome appended to a synthetic chromosome that contains pan-genomic information for optimising functionality towards a specific objective.
Synthetic Yeast Community: The design and construction of an engineered consortia involving defined or synthetic biological elements. This may be semi-synthetic (an engineered strain interacting with a natural biotic counterpart) or fully-synthetic (two or more engineered counterparts).
Synthetic Specialist Yeast: A synthetic yeast optimised for productive functionality in a target environment.
Pan-Genome: An assembled array of multiple genomic elements normally associated with an industrial or environmental site, for appending to a natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic organism’s genome, to improve functionality and productivity of the engineered organism in the target environment.
New-to-Nature: A biological substrate of any level of biological abstraction that cannot be found to have occurred through the natural process of evolution on Earth.