Scientists have made a breakthrough in the field of synthetic biology after they synthesized the first entire chromosome for yeast. It is undoubtedly a giant leap towards the creation of artificial life. The importance of the latest feat could be understood by the fact that the ability to design and synthesize chromosomes for artificial life can have a huge influence on the world's economy and development of innovative cures in medicine.

The synthesis of an artificial chromosome is seen as an important immediate step between creating an artificial gene and an artificial genome. Thousands of genes could be present on a single chromosome, but it takes multiple chromosomes to make up a genome in non-bacteria life-forms. There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in human cells compared to 16 in yeast cells.

An international team of geneticists managed to create a synthetic bacteria cell in 201. But only one chromosome exists in bacteria and that chromosome is no similar to the ones found in eukaryotic organisms, like humans and yeasts.

However, March 27, 2014, was the day when researchers claimed to have further advanced the field of designing artificial life by synthesizing the first eukaryotic chromosome.

More than 100 student participants from the 'Build-a-Genome' project made it possible by combining small pieces of genetic information into one long chromosome. They used the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for their stint. They omitted useless, non-coding parts of the chromosomes and inserted special markers for identification and controlled reorganization. As a result, the chromosome, called SynIII, was created to have over 43,000 base pairs slimmer than its wild-yeast equivalent. It also had 500 genetic alterations.

Of the 61 chromosomes found in yeast, SynIII is only one, but it is certainly the first one that has been completely synthesized. Researchers are highly optimistic that they will be able to replicate their achievement with the remaining 15.