Synthetic genomes
Whole genomes are now designed on a computer, written chemically and booted up in living cells.
Open in the interactive tree →After the first synthetic bacterial genome in 2010, labs began rewriting genomes at scale: the Sc2.0 project built all 16 synthetic yeast chromosomes plus one new tRNA chromosome, and Jason Chin's group made E. coli Syn57 with only 57 of the 64 codons. In 2025-26 generative AI models joined in, designing complete virus genomes. Synthetic organisms can resist viruses, make non-natural proteins and serve as test beds for basic questions about life.
As of October 2026
Syn57 (Science, 2025) recoded more than 101,000 codons in a genome of about 4 million letters. The Sc2.0 consortium announced on 22 January 2025 that its last synthetic yeast chromosome, synXVI, was complete. On 6 August 2026 Science published a Stanford and Arc Institute study in which the genome language models Evo 1 and Evo 2 designed complete bacteriophage genomes based on the phage phiX174; 16 of the tested designs gave viable phages, and a cocktail of them overcame phage-resistant E. coli strains.
Open steps
- Higher success of AI-designed genomes High AI leverageAbout 5% of roughly 300 AI-designed phage genomes were viable; designing genomes that boot reliably needs models that learn constraints beyond sequence statistics.
- Cheaper, faster genome assembly Medium AI leverageWriting megabase genomes means assembling and testing many DNA pieces in yeast or bacteria; cost and time per genome must fall by orders of magnitude.
- Models for whole bacterial genomes High AI leverageGenome language models now generate genome-scale sequence, but no AI-designed bacterial chromosome has been shown to boot a cell; function, not naturalness, is the open test.
Where AI could help
Medium AI leverage. Genome language models propose designs, but DNA synthesis, assembly and booting cells stay lab-bound and hit rates are low.
- Genome language models that propose whole phage and other small genomes
- Predicting which recoded codons or deletions a cell tolerates
- Screening designs in silico before costly synthesis
- Automated design-build-test loops with lab robots
Shown so far
- On 6 August 2026 Science published Evo 1 and Evo 2 designs of bacteriophage genomes: 285 designs were built and 16 gave viable phages (5.6%), and a mix of them beat phage-resistant E. coli that a natural-phage mix could not. source
Prerequisites
- Organic Synthesis (Wöhler)1828Synthetic DNA is made by chemical synthesis, a branch of organic chemistry
- Gene regulation (operon)1961Synthetic gene circuits copy operon-style genetic switches
- Genetic engineering1973
- Genome sequencing2003
- CRISPR gene editing2012
- Deep Learning2012