# Genomics & DNA design Writing genomes rather than just reading them — DNA synthesis at scale, de novo synthetic chromosomes and DNA-based digital data storage, complementing the sequencing/analysis side of genomics. Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/genomics-dna-design/ Updated: 2026-08-18 ## Overview 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 | Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs | |:---|:---|:---| | **1. Design and codon optimization** | Designing the target DNA sequence in silico, optimizing codon usage for the intended host organism. | **In:** Target sequence specification, design software.
**Out:** Optimized DNA sequence design file. | | **2. Oligo/gene synthesis** | Chemically synthesizing short oligonucleotides or full-length genes from the design. | **In:** Nucleotide phosphoramidites, DNA synthesizers.
**Out:** Synthesized oligonucleotides/genes. | | **3. Assembly** | Assembling synthesized fragments into larger constructs, chromosomes or genomes. | **In:** Synthesized fragments, assembly enzymes/vectors.
**Out:** Assembled DNA construct. | | **4. Host delivery** | Transforming or delivering the assembled DNA into a host cell or organism (yeast, bacteria, or cross-species delivery). | **In:** Assembled DNA, host cells/embryos.
**Out:** Host organism carrying the synthetic DNA. | | **5. Validation and QC** | Sequencing and functionally validating that the assembled/delivered DNA matches the design and behaves as intended. | **In:** Transformed host, sequencing equipment.
**Out:** Validated synthetic construct. | | **6. Application** | Deploying the validated synthetic DNA for data storage, industrial production, or research use. | **In:** Validated construct.
**Out:** Stored data, industrial strain, or research model. | 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. --- ## US 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. --- ## CN 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. --- ## EU 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. --- ## Leading companies and research institutes | Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 | |:---|:---|:---|:---|:---| | **Twist Bioscience** | 🇺🇸 USA | DNA synthesis platform | Spun out DNA data storage as Atlas Data Storage | commercial | | **Atlas Data Storage** | 🇺🇸 USA | Commercial DNA data storage | $155M launch, hyperscaler/enterprise targeting | research | | **Tianjin University** | 🇨🇳 China | Synthetic yeast chromosomes, SynNICE | Sc2.0 co-author, megabase human DNA assembly | research | | **Toulouse White Biotechnology** | 🇫🇷 France | Industrial strain-design foundry | Applied synthetic biology for chemicals/materials | research | | **Max Planck Institute for Synthetic Biology** | 🇩🇪 Germany | Bottom-up synthetic cells | Minimal synthetic cell construction, photosynthetic design | research | --- ## Tech 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. --- ## Value 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.