Preface

Synthetic biology can broadly be defined as an applied science for the synthesis of biological components of organisms. It is a novel interdisciplinary science with contributions from genetics, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, mathematics, and other disciplines. Its application leads to the creation or modification of genetic materials in living organisms. Thus, synthetic biology has a very wide and complex scope: it is interdisciplinary and can be applied to microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Synthetic biology gives us a new hope because it is a novel interdisciplinary science. We can foresee the creation of the new world of vegetation, animals, and humans with the interdisciplinary system of biological sciences. By understanding various parts and bringing them together, we can build coherent theories in this complex world of different disciplines and make science more useful and practical.

The first synthetic gene was somatostatin reported in 1977 in *Science*. It was demonstrated that a gene, designed from an amino acid sequence, can be synthesized. Later, improvements in technologies, such as high-performance liquid chromatography for the analysis and purification of DNA fragments, genetic engineering, chemical synthesis, and advances in other branches of biology, led to the production of synthetic organs and manmade biological systems. For example, a synthetic heart has been fabricated from a novel supramolecular elastomer that enables endogenous cells to enter and produce a matrix. Genetically modified yeast produces penicillin and transgenic maize confers resistance to corn rootworms. Gene therapy, which aims to restore correct gene expression in cells that have a defective form, is being developed to prevent diseases such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, and many more. Gene therapy is becoming a promising technology for treating hereditary and acquired disorders.

Genetic engineering technologies, such as cloning, custom-designed promoters, and linking genes of one species to another, are being used to produce new characteristics in organisms and thus change the genetic make-up of future generations. The construction of recombinant DNA (i.e., joining DNA of different genes) and its insertion into the host organism creates genetically modified organisms. Genetically modified foods have been developed that are resistant to pests, diseases, and herbicides. Genetic engineering is widely used to produce vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and animals that can be used as models for diseases or as organ donors (such as pigs) for humans.

The creation of new modern tools in biological disciplines is helping to explore genes and the world of genomes. Recently, the discovery of the technique RNA interference has helped to determine the functions of genes identified by sequencing the genome. Microbes are being designed to break down plastic and clean up pollution. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats technology for gene editing is used in the treatment of diabetes and therapeutics of immune diseases. This technology is now applied across various genomes in its role of immunity to genetic diseases.

**II**

**Chapter 8 137**

**Chapter 9 147**

**Chapter 10 165**

**Chapter 11 181**

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): Principle and Applications

Annealing Temperature of 55°C and Specificity of Primer Binding in

Real-Time Quantitative PCR as a Tool for Monitoring Microbiological

*by Amanda Teixeira Sampaio Lopes and Bianca Mendes Maciel*

PCR and Infectious Diseases *by Danielle Alves Gomes Zauli*

*by Marjanca Starčič Erjavec*

*by Karim Kadri*

PCR Reactions

Quality of Food

This book incorporates articles of diverse disciplines. The introductory chapter presents the subject matter in general and the other chapters focus on various important aspects, such as procedures, achievements, and the future ideas and challenges of synthetic biology. These articles are contributed by leading experts in their fields and make this book very special, very useful, and full of knowledge. The field of synthetic biology is growing exponentially and opening up new avenues in multidisciplinary approaches by bringing together theoretical and applied aspects of science.

We convey our appreciations to all the contributing authors and the IntechOpen team, particularly Josip Knapic and Lucija Tomicic-Dromgool, the Commissioning Editor. We believe this book demonstrates the great achievements made by the power of genetic engineering and synthetic biology and that it will be tremendously useful in teaching new perspectives on this fascinating area of science.

> **Madan L. Nagpal** University of South Carolina, USA

**Oana-Maria Boldura** Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Romania

> **Cornel Balta** "Vasile Goldis" Western University of Arad, Romania

> > **Shymaa Enany** Suez Canal University, Egypt

> > > **1**

Section 1

Genetic Engineering

Section 1
