Researchers from Tianjin University have synthesized a human genome fragment exceeding 1 million base pairs in length \u2014 specifically 1.14 million base pairs \u2014 and successfully transferred it into mouse cells to verify its biological function.<\/p>\n
This milestone overcomes critical technological bottlenecks in human genome synthesis and transfer, opening new pathways for biomedicine and genetic disease treatment.<\/p>\n
The accomplishment addresses two long-standing challenges.<\/p>\n
First, over 50 percent of the human genome consists of complex repetitive sequences, which academician Yuan Yingjin likened to “assembling a million-piece puzzle with near-identical fragments”.<\/p>\n
Second, transferring lengthy DNA segments is exceptionally delicate; core team member Liu Yue described it as moving “a fragile artwork of glass beads prone to shattering”.<\/p>\n
The team focused on the AZFa region of the Y chromosome, where deletions cause untreatable male infertility. This segment posed extreme difficulties with over 69 percent repetitive content.<\/p>\n
Using their novel “SynNICE” system, scientists employed a stepwise strategy: dividing sequences into over 200 fragments, assembling them hierarchically using the homologous recombination capabilities of baker”s yeast and integrating components with CRISPR-Cas9.<\/p>\n
For transfer, they pioneered yeast nuclei as protective carriers. Yuan explained: “If DNA transfer is a moon mission, yeast nuclei are the spacecraft safeguarding genetic material.”<\/p>\n
Liu Yue added that this “natural transport capsule” prevents damage by shielding synthetic DNA within intact nuclei.<\/p>\n
The breakthrough enables direct study of gene-function-disease relationships. Peking University professor Tang Fuchou noted SynNICE could extend viability of pig-to-human organ transplants from “years to decades”.<\/p>\n
Yuan emphasized interdisciplinary collaboration with Tsinghua University and hospitals, plus adherence to WHO-endorsed Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines.<\/p>\n
Supported by national resources, the team is now expanding SynNICE applications to tackle more health challenges.<\/p>\n
Zang Yifan contributed to this stroy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers from Tianjin University have synthesized a human genome fragment exceeding 1 million base pairs in length \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[916,35484,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-67674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-genetics","tag-human-genome-synthesis","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}