Genomics & DNA design

01Overview and value chain#

Markers EC: New Genomic Techniques (NGT) Regulation | OECD: genomics-bioinformatics | Regulator: FDA (US), EMA (EU), NMPA (CN)

Genomics and DNA design is the “write” complement to sequencing’s “read”: designing and chemically synthesizing DNA from scratch, assembling whole synthetic chromosomes, and encoding digital data directly into DNA base pairs rather than analyzing naturally occurring genomes. Twist Bioscience, a leading DNA synthesis company, spun out its DNA data storage technology into an independent company, Atlas Data Storage, in a $155 million launch in 2025, aimed at providing commercial end-to-end DNA data storage solutions for hyperscale cloud providers and enterprise customers. In China, Tianjin University’s synthetic biology team, led by Academician Yuan Yingjin, co-authored the landmark 2017 Science papers reporting the de novo design and chemical synthesis of four synthetic yeast chromosomes as part of the international Sc2.0 project, and in 2026 published a Nature Methods paper describing SynNICE, a new technology enabling precise megabase-scale assembly of human DNA fragments in yeast and their cross-species delivery into mouse embryos, where the synthetic DNA was observed to be activated and to carry regulatory epigenetic marks. In France, Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB) — Europe’s flagship industrial synthetic-biology design center — is accelerating its development of industrial biotechnology strain-design work for chemicals and materials production. In Germany, the Max Planck Institute for Synthetic Biology is pursuing bottom-up synthetic biology, including minimal approaches to synthetic cell construction and photosynthetic synthetic organisms.

The key directions of genomics and DNA design are:

1. De novo genome and chromosome synthesis: chemically synthesizing entire chromosomes or genomes from scratch, as demonstrated by the international Sc2.0 synthetic yeast genome project, rather than only reading and annotating natural ones.
2. Large-fragment DNA assembly and cross-species delivery: assembling megabase-scale synthetic DNA fragments (including human sequences) in a host organism such as yeast, then delivering them into a different species to study gene regulation and epigenetics.
3. Industrial strain design (foundry work): engineering microbial production strains for chemicals and materials manufacturing, the applied/industrial counterpart to fundamental synthetic genomics.
4. DNA-based digital data storage: encoding digital information directly into synthetic DNA base sequences for ultra-dense, long-term archival storage, now moving from R&D into dedicated commercial ventures.

Sectoral value chain#

[Design & Codon Optimization] ──> [DNA Synthesis (oligos/genes)] ──> [Assembly into Chromosomes/Constructs]
                                                                                  │
                                                                        (Host delivery/transformation)
                                                                                  │
                                                                                  ▼
[Applications: Data Storage / Industrial Strains / Research] <─── [Validation & Sequencing QC]

Value chain levels#

Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:

• Solid-phase DNA synthesis: automated synthesizers building oligonucleotides base-by-base using phosphoramidite chemistry, the foundational technology behind both gene synthesis and DNA data storage.
• Synthetic chromosome design (Sc2.0-style): redesigning a genome’s chromosomes with modifications (removed repetitive elements, relocated tRNA genes, an inducible genome-scrambling system) while preserving the organism’s viability.
• DNA-based digital data storage: encoding binary data as base sequences (A/C/G/T), exploiting DNA’s extreme information density (on the order of petabytes per gram) and multi-century stability for archival storage.

02US#

The US leads in commercializing DNA synthesis and its emerging data-storage application, moving fundamental synthetic-genomics capability into standalone businesses.

commercial DNA synthesis, dedicated data-storage spinoffs, hyperscaler-focused storage solutions#

• Twist Bioscience: a leading DNA synthesis company that spun out its DNA data storage technology into Atlas Data Storage, an independently launched company backed by $155 million in 2025.
• Atlas Data Storage: aims to provide commercial end-to-end DNA data storage solutions targeting hyperscale cloud providers and enterprise customers, competing with other emerging DNA-storage ventures.
• National security interest: the sector benefits from research-funding interest in DNA-based cold storage of very large datasets, given the technology’s extreme information density and multi-century archival stability.

03CN#

China is a leading contributor to fundamental synthetic-genome design, with university-led teams co-authoring landmark international synthetic chromosome projects and advancing large-fragment human DNA synthesis.

synthetic yeast chromosome design, large-fragment human DNA assembly, cross-species delivery research#

• Tianjin University: its synthetic biology team, led by Academician Yuan Yingjin, co-authored the landmark 2017 Science papers on de novo design and chemical synthesis of four synthetic yeast chromosomes as part of the international Sc2.0 project, and in 2026 published a Nature Methods paper on SynNICE, a technology enabling precise megabase-scale assembly of human DNA fragments in yeast and their cross-species delivery into mouse embryos.
• International collaboration: the Sc2.0 synthetic yeast genome project brought together Chinese universities with international partners (including the University of Manchester as international coordinator), reflecting China’s role as a core contributor rather than a solo actor in fundamental synthetic genomics.
• Translational direction: the 2026 human-DNA assembly and cross-species delivery work extends synthetic genomics from yeast-only systems toward tools for studying human gene regulation and epigenetics in animal models.

04EU#

The EU’s contribution spans applied industrial strain-design foundries and fundamental bottom-up synthetic biology research.

industrial biotechnology strain design, bottom-up synthetic cell research, New Genomic Techniques regulation#

• Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB, France): Europe’s flagship industrial synthetic-biology design center, accelerating development of industrial biotechnology strain-design work for chemicals and materials production.
• Max Planck Institute for Synthetic Biology (Germany): pursuing bottom-up synthetic biology, including minimal approaches to synthetic cell construction and the design of photosynthetic synthetic organisms.
• Regulatory framework: the EU’s New Genomic Techniques (NGT) regulation is shaping how synthetically designed organisms and DNA constructs are classified and approved relative to conventional GMO rules.

05Leading companies and research institutes#

06Tech stack and innovations#

The genomics and DNA design stack pairs computational sequence design with wet-lab synthesis and assembly methods:

1. Automated solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis:
   • DNA synthesizers build oligonucleotides base-by-base using phosphoramidite chemistry, the core process underlying both custom gene synthesis and DNA-based data storage encoding.
2. Synthetic chromosome assembly and genome scrambling:
   • Following the Sc2.0 model, redesigned chromosome sequences (with repetitive elements removed and an inducible recombination system inserted) are assembled from synthesized fragments and delivered into a host cell, preserving viability while enabling large-scale genome-scale engineering.
3. Large-fragment DNA assembly for cross-species delivery:
   • Technologies such as Tianjin University’s SynNICE assemble megabase-scale DNA fragments (including human sequences) within a yeast host, then extract and deliver the intact large fragment into a different species’ cells or embryos for functional study.

07Value chains and production pipelines#

Industrial pipeline for de novo synthetic chromosome design and assembly#

┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Target sequence design │ ───> │ 2. Oligonucleotide         │
│    & codon optimization    │      │    synthesis                │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
                                                 │
                                                 ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Host cell               │ <─── │ 3. Fragment assembly      │
│    transformation           │      │    into larger constructs  │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Sequencing validation  │ ───> │ 6. Application deployment │
│    & QC                     │      │    (data/strain/research)  │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘

Stage 1: Target sequence design and codon optimization

The target DNA sequence — a synthetic chromosome segment, an industrial gene construct, or an encoded data payload — is designed in silico, with codon usage optimized for the intended host organism.

Stage 2: Oligonucleotide synthesis

Automated DNA synthesizers chemically build short oligonucleotides base-by-base using phosphoramidite chemistry, which are then enzymatically joined into longer gene-length fragments.

Stage 3: Fragment assembly into larger constructs

Synthesized fragments are assembled, using enzymatic assembly methods and yeast or bacterial vectors, into progressively larger constructs — up to entire synthetic chromosomes or megabase-scale DNA fragments.

Stage 4: Host cell transformation

The assembled DNA construct is transformed into a host cell (commonly yeast for large-fragment assembly work) or, for cross-species studies, extracted and delivered into a different species’ cells or early-stage embryos.

Stage 5: Sequencing validation and QC

The transformed or delivered DNA is sequenced and functionally tested to confirm it matches the intended design and, where relevant, is correctly activated with expected regulatory/epigenetic behavior.

Stage 6: Application deployment

The validated synthetic DNA construct is deployed for its intended application — encoding archival digital data, serving as an industrial production strain, or supporting research into gene regulation and development.