ABSTRACT
As the technologies in support of synthesizing and manipulating articial DNA matured and advanced, so did the applications to which they were applied. e early successful applications of recombinant DNA technology resulted in alternative routes to the synthesis of medicines, such as insulin, human growth factor, and erythropoietin, vaccines, and even genetically modied organisms, including crops that exhibit more desirable traits. Technologies were developed for the manipulation of arti- cial DNA in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic host organisms, including mammalian and plant cells. In addition, inspired by the diversity of natural products, chemicals, and materials synthesized by biological systems that are observed in the natural world, researchers began to look beyond applications that were limited to the synthesis of a single heterologous protein product in a cellular host to more complicated engineering feats. In particular, these new applications focused on the manipulation of sets or combinations of proteins, or enzymes, that acted in conjunction in a cell, within metabolic pathways, to convert energy and precursor chemicals into desired natural and non-natural products.
