If you want to check out a book you go to the library. If you want to get a copy of the latest DNA, you go to MIT’s Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Started in 2003, the Registry has developed from a few stored genes to a collection of more than 3000 genetic parts that can be spliced into DNA to modify an existing organism. Need your bacteria to glow in the dark? Want yeast to produce a banana smell? The Registry might have what you need. It’s a candy shop for synthetic biologists and it’s changing what genetic engineering can accomplish.

While there are some costs associated with getting genes from the Registry, it’s not really a store. The registered segments of DNA are stored and shipped on a looser “get some, give some” exchange. Those users who request and utilize these biological parts are expected to share some of their results and innovations with everyone else. Sort of the biological equivalent of the take-a-penny-leave-a-penny tray at the corner store.

Before you start sending your genetic requests to MIT, I should point out that the Registry is for established scientists only. Do-it-yourself biologists need not apply. Most of those who receive parts are from academic labs, and/or forming a team to participate in iGEM, MIT’s annual genetic engineering competition. Still, the wide range of users gives this registry a scope that promises to catapult synthetic biology into its next phase of evolution.

Read More