AI learns to write code that activates genes in mammals

Could scientists ever write the DNA instructions that tell cells which genes to switch on? Researchers from the lab of Alexander Stark at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) have now shown that they can, using artificial intelligence to design enhancers—DNA switches that control gene activity—for specific mouse tissues. Published in Nature Genetics, the study marks the first successful design of enhancers from scratch for a mammal, bringing programmable gene expression as a therapeutic approach a step closer to reality.

Researchers in the lab of Alexander Stark at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) have shown that the language of enhancers can be deciphered—and even written—in mammals. Using artificial intelligence (AI), they designed entirely new synthetic enhancers that activate genes specifically in the heart, limbs, or nervous system of mice. The work demonstrates for the first time that scientists can write DNA sequences that direct gene activity in a mammal, opening the door to programming gene activity also in humans. 

Their findings are published in the journal Nature Genetics.

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