Genome transplantation

An experimental approach which consists of replacing the genetic program of a bacterial cell by a new synthetic genetic program. The fact that the cell readily expresses the new chromosome, in the case of Mycoplasma [1], shows that the genetic program is independent from the cellular machine like in a computer. This is another proof of concept of the cell as a Turing Machine. Like in a computer, in which a program may not run if it is not properly recognized by the machine, one cannot expect any genome transplantation to be productive.

Reference:

1. Lartigue C, Glass JI, Alperovich N, Pieper R, Parmar PP, Hutchison CA, 3rd, Smith HO, Venter JC (2007) Genome transplantation in bacteria: changing one species to another. Science 317: 632-638