AUTHOR=Porcar Manuel , Latorre Amparo , Moya Andres 

TITLE=What Symbionts Teach us about Modularity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=Volume 1 - 2013

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2013.00014

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2013.00014

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=The main goal of Synthetic Biology is to apply engineering principles to biotechnology in order to make life easier to engineer. These engineering principles include modularity: decoupling of complex systems into smaller, orthogonal subsystems that can be used in a range of different applications. The successful use of modules in engineering is expected to be reproduced in synthetic biological systems. But the difficulties experienced up to date with synthetic biology approaches question the short-term feasibility of designing life. Considering the “engineerable” nature of life, here we discuss the existence of modularity in natural living systems, particularly in symbiotic interactions, and compare the behavior of such systems, with those of engineered modules. We conclude that not only is modularity present but it is also common among living structures, and that symbioses are a new example of module-like sub-systems having high similarity with modularly designed ones. However, we also detect and stress fundamental differences between man-made and biological modules. Both similarities and differences should be taken into account in order to adapt Synthetic Biology design to biological laws