Reacción a "AI designs functional bacteriophages from scratch"

This research represents a step forward in the ability to design synthetic genomes using generative AI tools. It demonstrates that an AI can be trained using natural genomes (in this case, from bacteriophages that attack the bacterium Escherichia coli), in the same way that generative AIs can be trained using text, so that the resulting algorithm is capable of generating new genomes that comply with a set of pre-established rules (for example, that they retain their ability to infect E. coli).

Until now, synthetic genomics relied on ‘plagiarising’ a natural genome (such as the genome of Venter’s minimal cell) into which modifications were introduced. Now, the computational system can draw on thousands of genomes and allows us to explore a vast space of possibilities by generating new genomes that are similar to natural ones but possess new properties. The authors have succeeded in synthesising some of these artificial viruses and demonstrating that they can infect resistant strains of the bacterium. This opens up fantastic opportunities for phage therapy.

The authors do not shy away from biosafety considerations and have themselves followed a very strict working protocol, with precautions going beyond those required by law. Undoubtedly, synthetic biology requires a very rigorous bioethical debate to ensure that research is carried out, as the authors state, for the benefit of science and society.