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Concept
BioBrick
Summary
BioBrick parts are DNA sequences which conform to a restriction-enzyme assembly standard. These building blocks are used to design and assemble larger synthetic biological circuits from individual parts and combinations of parts with defined functions, which would then be incorporated into living cells such as Escherichia coli cells to construct new biological systems. Examples of BioBrick parts include promoters, ribosomal binding sites (RBS), coding sequences and terminators.
The BioBrick parts are used by applying engineering principles of abstraction and modularization. BioBrick parts form the base of the hierarchical system on which synthetic biology is based. There are three levels to the hierarchy:
Parts: Pieces of DNA that form a functional unit (for example promoter, RBS, etc.)
Device: Collection set of parts with defined function. In simple terms, a set of complementary BioBrick parts put together forms a device.
System: Combination of a set of devices that performs high-level tasks.
The development of standardized biological parts allows for the rapid assembly of sequences. The ability to test individual parts and devices to be independently tested and characterized also improves the reliability of higher-order systems.
The first attempt to create a list of standard biological parts was in 1996, by Rebatchouk et al. This team introduced a cloning strategy for the assembly of short DNA fragments. However, this early attempt was not widely recognised by the scientific research community at the time. In 1999, Arkin and Endy realized that the heterogeneous elements that made up a genetic circuit were lacking standards, so they proposed a list of standard biological parts. BioBricks were described and introduced by Tom Knight at MIT in 2003. Since then, various research groups have utilized the BioBrick standard parts to engineer novel biological devices and systems.
The BioBricks Foundation was formed in 2006 by engineers and scientists alike as a not-for-profit organization to standardize biological parts across the field.
Official source
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