9/10 - Endosymbiosis

Question 1

What is the minimal genome and why do people care about it?

Answer 1

• The minimal set of genes that can support the basic cellular processes of a free-living organism in a rich growth medium and in the absence of any selective pressure

Perhaps the minimal genome is the set of genes essential for life in all growth conditions (but that’s near impossible to test)

Synthetic biologists are interested in this (creating organisms from scratch)