Standards for plant synthetic biology: a common syntax for exchange of <scp>DNA</scp> parts

TLDR

Standardization enables interchangeable components, and the BioBrick standard for DNA assembly was a landmark in synthetic biology. The authors propose a Type IIS restriction endonuclease-based standard with 12 fusion sites to facilitate assembly of eukaryotic transcriptional units and envision a comprehensive catalogue of standardized DNA parts to accelerate plant bioengineering. The standard was developed and agreed upon by international plant science and synthetic biology leaders, including inventors, developers, and adopters of Type IIS cloning methods.

Abstract

Inventors in the field of mechanical and electronic engineering can access multitudes of components and, thanks to standardization, parts from different manufacturers can be used in combination with each other. The introduction of BioBrick standards for the assembly of characterized DNA sequences was a landmark in microbial engineering, shaping the field of synthetic biology. Here, we describe a standard for Type IIS restriction endonuclease-mediated assembly, defining a common syntax of 12 fusion sites to enable the facile assembly of eukaryotic transcriptional units. This standard has been developed and agreed by representatives and leaders of the international plant science and synthetic biology communities, including inventors, developers and adopters of Type IIS cloning methods. Our vision is of an extensive catalogue of standardized, characterized DNA parts that will accelerate plant bioengineering.