Report on Macquarie University workshop on ethical, legal and social issues raised by synthetic biology (10 December 2014)

In mid-2014 Macquarie University, partnered by the Australian Wine Research Institute, announced its involvement in the Sc2.0 synthetic biology project.1 The project, which follows the synthesis of the third chromosome found in yeast by Professor Jef Boeke of New York University, 2 aims to build the world’s first completely synthetic yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc)) genome by engaging in a global partnership to synthesise the remaining 15 chromosomes by 2017. This task involves a partnership between scientists across the globe from New York University, John Hopkins University, the Joint Genome Institute, Beijing Genomics Institute, Tianjin University, Tsinghua University, Imperial College London, the University of Edinburgh and Macquarie University. In Australia, the research has been backed by $1 million in funding from the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The Macquarie University Sc2.0 project is led by Professor Sakkie Pretorius,3 whose team will work to design and synthesise yeast chromosomes 14 and 16.