Rapid advances in DNA synthesis techniques have made it possible to engineer viruses, biochemical pathways and assemble bacterial genomes. Researchers at the Boeke lab synthesized an entire yeast chromosome, the first artificial chromosome for the kingdom of life that includes humans, plants, and fungi. In addition to deleting some unnecessary sequences from the code of their ‘designer’ chromosome, the researchers also added many genes on the chromosome with tiny bits of DNA that act as landing sites for a protein that can be used to create on-demand mutations. Yeast with the artificial chromosome could help synthetic biologists better use the single-celled fungi as biological factories for chemicals like biofuels and drugs.

Project: Using real data, create a visual of the chromosome for the Science press release showing the approximate positions of the numerous ‘designer changes’. The changes were indicated by pins and white diamonds, and the deleted segments were indicated in yellow. The approximate position of nucleosomes (protein ‘packaging’ for the DNA in the chromosome) are shown running through the centre of the chromosome. The dark purple caps at the ends are synthetic telemeres. The positions of the changes are roughly to scale.
Client: Boeke lab / Science