Journal: mSystems
Article Title: The Future of Virology is Synthetic
doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00770-21
Figure Lengend Snippet: Building synthetic viruses from start to finish, including applications. (Top [blue]) Process of building synthetic viruses. First, viral nucleic acids must be extracted and then sequenced using massively parallel nucleic acid sequencing. After sequencing, computational pipelines assemble the viral genomes de novo . Once the viral genomes are assembled computationally, synthetic DNA and oligonucleotides (oligos) can be ordered. Next, the synthetic DNA and oligos can be assembled into full-length viral genomes using Gibson or Golden Gate assembly. Finally, the assembled viral genome can be converted into viral particles using in vitro transcription and translation into synthetic virions. (Middle [teal]) How to validate synthetic virions. Microscopy, either atomic force or transmission electron microscopy, should be used to validate the presence of virions. Protein-protein interactions with complete or incomplete virions can be used to measure host-viral interactions. Hosts can be predicted computationally utilizing a variety of methods . If the host is currently available, it can be ordered and then validated for virion replication, host lysis, or removal of host virulence genes. (Bottom [orange]) Variety of applications for synthetic virions. These applications range from viral nucleic acid data storage and mineralizing virions into carbonates to phage/mycoviral therapies.
Article Snippet: Massive parallel sequencing (MPS; formally NextGen) has elucidated vast numbers of new viral genomes; however, we cannot unlock the functions of the enormous library of unknown genes.
Techniques: Sequencing, In Vitro, Microscopy, Transmission Assay, Electron Microscopy, Protein-Protein interactions, Lysis