title: What Symbionts Teach us about Modularity.
abstract: The main goal of Synthetic Biology (SB) 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 sub-systems 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 SB 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 SB design to biological laws.
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universitat de València , València , Spain ; Fundació General de la Universitat de València , València , Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porcar
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universitat de València , València , Spain ; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Genómica y Salud, Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana - Salud Pública , València , Spain.
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Latorre
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universitat de València , València , Spain ; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Genómica y Salud, Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana - Salud Pública , València , Spain.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moya
keywords: endosymbionts; modularity; orthogonality; symbiosis; systems biology