bringing synthetic biology innovations to ... - bio market …€¦ · “a great opportunity to...
TRANSCRIPT
BIOSECURITY TOOL TO DETECT GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ORGANISMS IN WILD
MICROBE-GROWN HEADPHONES UNVEILED IN FINLAND OFFERS GLIMPSE OF RENEWABLE FUTURE
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY START-UP RECEIVES PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT BOOST
BRINGING SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY INNOVATIONS TO COMMERCIAL SCALE
www.synbiomarkets.com
18 - 19 November 2019 | Ewerk, Berlin, Germany
Powered by
PARTNERS, SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS
PRESENTATIONS, PANELS AND ROUNDTABLES
DECISION MAKERS IN ATTENDANCE
ONE-TO-ONE PARTNERING MEETINGS
“A great opportunity to learn about companies and organisations across the whole value chain, with many opportunities to engage with speakers during the panel discussions and networking breaks. The organisers provided a ready mechanism and rooms for scheduling individual meetings that were productive with so many thought-leaders and decision-makers in attendance.”Steve Cohen, Director of Catalyst and Chemical Technology, Elevance Renewable Sciences
CONNECTING SYNBIO INNOVATION TO COMMERCIAL END MARKETS
INDUSTRY LEADING SPEAKERS
CONTENTS02Editor’s Welcome.
03Researcher conducts gene-editing experiments on sugarcane.
05Lab-grown headphones made from fungus unveiled in Finland.
07Plastic-digesting enzyme produced to help bio-recycling loop.
09Synthetic biology start-up receives private equity investment boost.
10Zymergen teams up with Sumitomo to drive development of new materials.
11Drug-producing bacteria engineered using synthetic biology.
13Synthetic biology used to target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.
15Biosecurity tool to detect engineered organisms in wild.
CLICK ON TITLE TO GO TO ARTICLE
EDITOR & CO-FOUNDER:Luke [email protected]@Bio_Markets
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER:Alex [email protected]@alexjwmedia
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER:Rosie [email protected]
GLOBAL SALES DIRECTOR:Matt [email protected]
COMMERICAL MANAGER:Ryan [email protected]
DEPUTY EDITOR:Liz [email protected]@LizGyekye
Web: www.biomarketinsights.com
www.worldbiomarkets.com
www.synbiomarkets.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/8429881
Instagram: www.instagram.com/biobasedworld/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Bio_Markets
Bio-Based World Limited WeWork, 131 Finsbury PavementLondon, United KingdomEC2A 1NT
Bio Market Insights Reports are Designed by Coterie Creative Ltdwww.coteriecreative.co.uk
Bio Markets Insights Reports are Published by Bio-Based WorldNews Ltd.
© All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
CONTACT US:
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 1
EDITOR’S WELCOMEHumans have been using biology to their own purposes for thousands of years. They have reshaped livestock through selective breeding and reshaped crops.
Throughout the last half of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th, scientific research has changed the world and continues to transform many lives. From 1996 onwards, we have seen ‘Dolly the sheep’, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, seen stem cells analysed and the introduction of CRISPR.
Today, this research has led to a new interdisciplinary area making waves - synthetic biology.
Synthetic biology involves redesigning organisms for useful purposes by engineering them to have new abilities. This exciting area is worth covering as it has become increasingly prevalent in the modern world and this is why Bio Market Insights has focused our second report on this topic.
According to the United Nations, the world’s population will grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030. At the moment, it stands at 6.5 billion. This will mean more people using more energy and water. So, there will be a real urgency to use all the tools at our disposal to help with these challenges. Synthetic biology can play a vital role here. By engineering organisms for new purposes, scientists can produce new food, fuels, drugs and chemicals for beneficial reasons.
In fact, synthetic biology researchers and companies around the world are already harnessing the power of nature to solve problems in medicine, manufacturing and agriculture. And, a number of companies have successfully brought their synthetic biology innovations to commercial scale, which we cover in this report.
“By learning about how cells operate and testing the constraints under which they evolve, we can come up with ways
of engineering cells more efficiently for a wide range of applications in biotechnology,” says José Jiménez, Lecturer in Synthetic Biology at the University of Surrey’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, in this report.
Nevertheless, there are valid arguments against this technology, ethical dilemmas and an element of risk. What happens if you manufacture an organism which damages the environment or manufacture an organism that is in itself dangerous? These are hypothetical arguments at the moment, but ones that need addressing.
Scientists are already working on assuaging these fears. For example, some are developing biosecurity tools that can detect genetically or synthetically engineered microorganisms based on their unique DNA signatures in the wild (see page 15).
We need to talk about synthetic biology. This discussion must involve scientists, companies, ethicists and policymakers, but also wider society. The science world should carry people with them as this new field develops. We also want to inform the bio-based world about this interdisciplinary development.
This focus on the commercial development of synthetic biology is at the heart of our next conference ‘SynBio Markets’ coming to Berlin in November.
I hope you enjoy this latest report. Please see our full editorial calendar on the last page of this guide and if you wish to contribute to a future edition, or suggest a new topic, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for reading!
Liz GyekyeDeputy Editor at Bio Market [email protected] @LizGyekye
“BY LEARNING ABOUT HOW CELLS OPERATE AND TESTING THE CONSTRAINTS UNDER WHICH THEY EVOLVE, WE CAN COME UP WITH WAYS OF ENGINEERING CELLS MORE EFFICIENTLY FOR A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY.”
2SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019
AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST CONDUCTS GENE-EDITING EXPERIMENTS ON SUGARCANE IN
ORDER TO PRODUCE BIO-PRODUCTS.
An Australian researcher is conducting gene-editing experiments to tailor sugarcane production to effectively produce biofuels and bioplastics. Professor Robert Henry, Director of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food University (QAAFI) at the University of Queensland, said sugarcane’s “reinvention” as an “energycane” crop could sustain the industry in the face of falling global demand for sugar.
“The industry must think beyond just producing sugar, to also
producing electricity, biofuels for transportation and oils to
replace traditional plastics,” he said.
He added: “It’s about reinventing sugarcane as a crop with a
wider range of end uses, and sugarcane is ideal for renewables
because it is fast-growing with abundant biomass.”
He is working with a global team to sequence the
sugarcane genome as part of a US Joint Genome Institute
project. “Sugar is the last major cultivated plant to have its
genome sequenced, and we expect to see it fully decoded
by 2020,” Henry.
“Having sugar’s genetic template will allow us to look at
growing sugarcane as a biofuel and a source of 100%
recyclable bioplastic, making it a substitute for petroleum in
the production of countless items from cosmetics to car parts,”
he added.
Professor Henry’s call to revamp sugarcane is supported
by Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern
Australia Chair Sheriden Morris.
She said: “Gene-editing of the sugarcane genome will allow
the sugar industry to explore adaptations that will reduce
environmental impacts, especially on the Great Barrier Reef. It
will help the industry to broaden the potential of a sugar crop
to a wider range of uses.
“Biofuels and bioplastics will be important to the long-term
future of the industry.”
SUGAR IS THE LAST MAJOR CULTIVATED PLANT TO HAVE ITS
GENOME SEQUENCED, AND WE EXPECT TO SEE IT FULLY DECODED BY 2020.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 3
AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST CONDUCTS GENE-EDITING EXPERIMENTS ON SUGARCANE IN
ORDER TO PRODUCE BIO-PRODUCTS. (CONT.)
‘A RANGE OF VARIETIES’
Henry, who has helped lead genomic breakthroughs in
decoding the sugarcane genome, said the science was quickly
developing to allow growers to tap into the commercial
opportunities in renewables.
“Australia’s sugarcane growers are facing a falling sugar
price – driven by declining world demand and increased
competition in India and Brazil. The industry must look to the
future,” Henry said.
QAAFI researchers supported by the US Joint BioEnergy
Institute and Sugar Research Australia grant are testing a range
of sugarcane varieties to identify which types produce ethanol
most effectively and efficiently.
Researchers are also collaborating with the Indian Institute
of Technology in Delhi to investigate to processes that break
down sugarcane fibre to make bioplastics.
“Drink bottles made from sugarcane bioplastics are just
one product on the agenda from this collaboration,” Henry
explained. “Economics is key. Now that we understand more
about the genetics of sugarcane, these sorts of products are
becoming commercially realistic.”
Elsewhere, researchers from Michigan State University have
developed synthetic biology tools to co-produce high-value
compounds in plants, according to a study published in the
journal Nature Communications.
Terpenoids from the largest class of natural products in plants
have been used by humans for thousands of years, according
to the US researchers. Modern applications for terpenoids
range wide, from pharmaceuticals, fragrances, nutraceuticals,
biopesticides to chemical feedstocks.
However, in the context of industrial scale production,
plant accumulations of terpenoids is rather low. And, in the
pursuit to extract natural terpenoids, some wild plant species
have even become endangered, Michigan State University
researchers said.
Radin Sadre, Synthetic Biologist/Biochemist in the Department
of Horticulture, said: “We investigated novel strategies to
sustainably produce high-value terpenoid biomaterials in plants.”
Sadre is the lead author of the study conceived by Christoph
Benning, MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory director and
Bjoern Hamberger, Assistant Professor in the Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 4
LAB-GROWN HEADPHONES MADE FROM FUNGUS AND BIOPLASTIC UNVEILED IN FINLAND
Finnish design and innovation company Aivan has created a pair of headphones made exclusively from microbially-grown materials. The ‘Korvaa’ headset was produced to showcase the potential of synthetic biology in the form of a three-dimensional object.
Aivan teamed up with synbio scientists from the VTT Technical
Research Center of Finland and Aalto University to develop the
necessary components for the headset.
Traditionally, headphones are normally made from fossil fuel-
based plastic and contain a variety of hard and soft materials
that are usually not biodegradable. Aivan’s headphones feature
six different microbially-grown substances, including fungus
and yeast-based bioplastic.
The primary structure of the headphones is 3D-printed and
uses a bioplastic created with lactic acid produced by yeast.
The polylactic acid polymer is durable and flexible enough to
form the body. According to Aivan, in the future, this bioplastic
could be produced using CO2 as feedstock.
Padded earpieces were created from a protein called
hydrophobin that is made up of many tiny bubbles, resembling
artificial foam. The earbuds are covered in mycelium, which
is a fungus-derived material for flexibility to cover the ear
cuffs. The mesh on the Korvaa headphones is created by
spinning out synthetic spider silk. The Korvaa headphone is a
non-working prototype right now. Aivan stated that the main
objective of the initiative was to show that electronics do not
need to be made from non-biodegradable materials.
Saku Sysiö, Head of Product Design and Co-founder at Aivan,
told Bio Market Insights that these microbially-grown materials
could replace some fossil fuel-based plastics in the future.
He said that the change would probably happen in high-end
products first “because of the higher cost of production, and
then become the ‘norm’”.
Sysiö added: “The research is still in the early stages, and when
the development pushes ahead we’ll see lots of new materials
with more and more improved properties. In addition to this,
we will have better control over them. The field of synthetic
biology has taken leaps in the past ten years – something that
used to take a year, we can now do in a matter of days. I think
this trend will keep on going.”
THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF THE HEADPHONES IS 3D-PRINTED AND
USES A BIOPLASTIC CREATED WITH LACTIC ACID PRODUCED BY YEAST. THE POLYLACTIC ACID POLYMER IS DURABLE AND FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO FORM THE BODY. ACCORDING TO AIVAN, IN THE FUTURE, THIS BIOPLASTIC COULD BE PRODUCED USING CO2 AS FEEDSTOCK.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 5
LAB-GROWN HEADPHONES MADE FROM FUNGUS AND BIOPLASTIC UNVEILED IN FINLAND (CONT.)
This project enabled an important collaboration between
applied sciences and industrial design. During the process,
valuable insight into the properties of these new materials
was obtained. Sysiö said that the project did not stem from a
business plan and the designers “got to work with materials
that had no relatable prior use-case scenarios”, adding: “we
rarely get this type of insight into the science behind the
materials we work with, or get to be a part of the development
in such close collaboration with scientists”.
Sysiö added: “Understanding materials and production methods is
a part of any product designers key-competence, and these days
we have to factor in circularity as well. In that sense we probably
have gained a better understanding of, for instance, bioplastics in
general, compared to the average consumer. But we’re learning
about new things every day and that makes us hyper-sensitive.
“We understand that the more this field develops, the bigger
the risk that all current attempts at eco-friendliness will look
inadequate, or — worst case scenario — like greenwashing
efforts, in the near future. But as designers, it’s in our nature to
keep an open mind towards these things. We will always see the
future as full of possibilities.”
All in all, the Korvaa project aimed to raise awareness and
highlight the potential opportunities in synthetic biology. Sysiö
said that the initiative “far exceeded any expectations any of
the scientists, artists or designers involved in the project had”.
Sysiö explained: “It’s not about the depletion of fossil raw
materials, but the shift in buying behaviour. ‘Stuff’ needs to have
a purpose and actions need to make a difference. Korvaa should,
at the very least, be proof to any consumer electronics brand (or
any other brand for that matter) that the market is thirsty for bio-
based products, going beyond plastic straws and bags.”
“This was certainly only a surface scratch into where biology-
engineered materials are going, and what we can do with them
in the future. For now, we were able to showcase two versions
of the Korvaa headset; the current material composition, and
the target for the future,” said Thomas Tallqvist, Industrial
Designer at Aivan.
The headphones will be on display at several design shows in
Finland in September.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 6
RESEARCHERS PRODUCE ENZYMES WHICH COULD CREATE ‘PERFECT’
BIO-RECYCLING LOOP FOR PLASTICS
A Germany-based research team has been able to produce enzymes which can break down PET plastics and other polymers into their basic building blocks.
The researchers from the University of Greifswald and
Hemholtz-Zentrum-Berlin (HZB) have figured out the 3D
structure of a plastic-digesting enzyme called MHETase.
MHETase can be used in combination with a second enzyme,
PETase, to break PET plastic into its basic components, which
can then be used to produce new plastic.
According to the researchers, applying these enzymes could
create a “perfect” bio-recycling loop for plastics – allowing
them to be broken down and reprocessed without waste – and
cutting out the need for crude oil to produce virgin materials.
The HZB research, recently published in journal Nature
Communications, forms the final piece of a puzzle that
researchers have been working to solve since 2016 – when
Japanese scientists identified a bacteria that lives on and
partially digests PET using PETase and MHETase.
In the following two years, research teams around the world
raced to replicate the structure of the enzymes. Last year,
the structure of PETase, the more simple of the two, was
discovered independently by teams in Korea, China, UK, US
and Brazil, reflecting the high level of international interest.
MEHTase, which completes the decomposition process started
by PETase, proved more difficult to crack. According to HZB
researcher Dr Gert Weber, a single MHETase molecule consists
of 600 amino acids, or about 4000 atoms. But he added that it
had a great potential to optimise plastic bio-recycling.
Weber said: “MHETase has a surface that is about twice as large
as the surface of PETase and has therefore considerably more
potential to optimise it for decomposition of PET.”
Weber and biotechnologist Professor Uwe Bornscheuer
approached the problem by studying how the enzyme bound
to MHET – a smaller building block of PET that is produced by
plastic digested by PETase.
BACK TO BASICS
In a statement, Weber said that to break down these smaller
building blocks into PET’s basic components, the enzyme first
needs to “dock” them in a tailor-made 3D structure.
“We can now exactly localise where the MHET molecule docks
to MHETase and how MHET is then split into its two building
blocks: terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol,” Weber added,
explaining that the BESSY II synchrotron was used to produce
extremely bright X-rays that shed light on the complex
structure.
Weber said: “In order to see how MHETase binds to PET and
decomposes it, you need a fragment of plastic that binds to
MHETase but is not cleaved by it.”
A member of Weber’s prior research team in Greifswald, Dr.
Gottfried Palm, cut up a PET bottle, chemically decomposed
the PET polymer and synthesised a small chemical fragment
from it that binds to MHETase but can no longer be cleaved by
it. From this ‘blocked’ MHETase, tiny crystals were grown for
structural investigations at the HZB.
According to the researchers, neither PETases nor MHETase are
particularly efficient yet.
“Plastics have only been around on this scale for a few
decades; even bacteria with their rapid successions of
generations and rapid adaptability have not managed to
develop a perfect solution through the evolutionary process of
trial and error over such a short time,” he explained.
Weber’s team is working to accelerate the process. They have
used their 3D structure to create a new version of MHETase
that was able to digest MHET and another PET building block,
BHET, more efficiently than the natural enzyme.
The enzyme MHETase is a large complex folded molecule. MHET molecules from PET plastic dock on to MHETase at certain locations and are then split into their building blocks. © Martin Künsting
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 7
alpha-iononenonivamide
ergothioneine Reb M
►
►
► Bring your science to market
Accelerate your research
Translate your discoveries
+1 781.271.1588 [email protected] www.conagen-inc.com 15 DeAngelo DriveBedford, MA 01730, USA
We focus on biological production of high-value
ingredients for nutrition, food, flavoring, feed,
pharmaceutical, and renewable materials industries
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY START-UP RECEIVES PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT BOOST
UK-based synthetic biology company Zentraxa has received £113k investment from a private equity firm to take its business to the next stage of development.
The Bristol Private Equity Club (BPEC) has invested £113k of
the £500k that Zentraxa, a University of Bristol spin out biotech
company, requires to take the fledgling business to the next
stage of development.
Zentraxa was formed in 2017 and is commercialising Zentide, a
unique manufacturing process to produce biological adhesives
for use in sectors including healthcare.
Zentraxa is already in partnership talks with a global
healthcare company and now wants to take its products and
manufacturing processes past the feasibility stage and start
testing them in the real world.
“We’re developing both a manufacturing process and our own
biomaterials that are highly effective adhesives. Both these
technologies are based on processes found in the natural
environment, making it more environmentally-friendly and
sustainable than other petrochemical-derived products currently
being used,” said Martin Challand, Chief Technology Officer at
Zentraxa. “With investment in place, the focus for the coming
months will be optimisation of our Zentide process from lab
to pilot scale, which will allow more accurate product costing,
providing improved business focus and customer traction.”
After announcing they were looking for a £500k investment
to allow continuation of their development work, Martin and
his team were introduced to BPEC, which is made up of 80
business experts and entrepreneurs keen to work with Bristol
technology firms and help them thrive and grow.
‘AMBITIOUS VISION’
Jerry Barnes, one of BPEC’s founding members, said: “We are
always looking for investment opportunities with innovative
Bristol-based businesses with the potential for rapid scale-up
and Zentraxa is a perfect example of that.
“Even though Martin and his team come from a scientific,
rather than business, background they have proven themselves
to be gifted entrepreneurs with an ambitious vision to make
take their product to the global marketplace.”
In six months to 31 March 2019, BPEC invested £1m in seven
deals, including Zentraxa. In three years BPEC has invested a
total of £4.6m in 14 Bristol-based businesses and has seen its
own membership swell from 49 members in 2016 to 80 today.
“We see lots of applications for our biological adhesive
products,” said Challand. “We are initially focusing on the
healthcare sector and applications such as wound dressing
where our biologically-derived adhesives show many benefits
sticking materials to skin.
“But, as we progress, there are lots of possibilities, especially
as more and more industries look towards environmentally-
sustainable solutions like ours.” He added: “This is a crucial
stage in our development and we are delighted to have the
Bristol Private Equity Club on board as we progress past the
feasibility stage and onto proving that our technology can be a
global leader.”
Barnes explained: “Bristol has an excellent eco-system for
tech-minded start-ups and university spin-offs with truly
world-class businesses being produced.
“We are always keen to hear from the city’s technology
entrepreneurs to see if there is any way we can provide the
investment they need to scale up and take their businesses to
the next level.”
WE ARE INITIALLY FOCUSING ON THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR AND
APPLICATIONS SUCH AS WOUND DRESSING WHERE OUR BIOLOGICALLY DERIVED ADHESIVES SHOW MANY BENEFITS STICKING MATERIALS TO SKIN.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 9
ZYMERGEN TEAMS UP WITH SUMITOMO TO DRIVE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MATERIALS
Japanese chemical company Sumitomo Chemical and US synthetic biology specialist Zymergen have signed a multi-year partnership to bring new specialty materials to the market. This collaboration between the two companies will enable the development of new materials to meet consumer trends in high-tech industries.
Today, electronics makers and consumers seek devices that
are lighter, smaller, more battery efficient, have optimised
displays, and new functionality– all at a lower cost. Electronics
manufacturers are increasingly demanding next-generation
materials for these next-generation electronics because the
current petrochemical toolbox is limited, expensive, and
difficult to manufacture.
In order to better meet these demands, Sumitomo Chemical
has decided to partner with Zymergen, whose mission is to
build a sustainable future through biology, to discover novel
and improved molecules to bring to market competitive, high-
performance, specialty materials to better serve the electronics
industry and more. This partnership will leverage Zymergen’s
proprietary platform which combines advances in artificial
intelligence, robotic lab automation, and cutting-edge genomics,
to unlock previously inaccessible sources of molecular diversity
based on sustainable and renewable resources. Sumitomo
Chemical is a well-known supplier to major electronics
companies, with approximately 20% of the company’s sales
revenue in IT-related chemicals. The company’s industry insight
will ensure that materials meet application requirements that
will drive the next generation of electronics products. According
to Sumitomo, it will bring access to key markets, a reputation
for quality and excellence, and the applications knowledge to
connect new materials to the best products.
Sumitomo Chemical and Zymergen will develop specialty
materials that may include optical films for displays, hard
coatings that will not scratch, flexible electronics circuits and
adhesive materials. These new materials can help make next-
generation, high tech products a reality for consumers.
Richard Pieters, President of Zymergen’s products business,
said he saw the partnership as an opportunity to drive real
innovation in the consumer electronics space. He added: “This
cooperation unites the best of both worlds with Zymergen’s
expertise exploring the molecular diversity of biology to
make new polymers and materials, and Sumitomo Chemical’s
technology leadership in serving the most demanding markets
and unique insights in next-generation materials.”
“Partnering with Zymergen combines our chemical technologies
with their expertise in molecular diversity of biology that will allow
us to develop high-performance materials to meet customer
demand,” said Hiroshi Ueda, Vice President at Sumitomo
Chemical. “Through molecular biology we will be able to deliver
our customers performance capabilities not previously possible
by reliably and cost-effectively engineering biology.” Together,
Sumitomo Chemical and Zymergen will work to develop new
and unique materials, making the impossible possible for the
electronics industry and beyond, according to both companies.
Richard Pieters, President of Zymergen’s products business,
is a speaker at SynBio Markets 2019.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 10
DRUG-PRODUCING BACTERIA ENGINEERED USING SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Bacteria could be programmed to efficiently produce drugs, thanks to breakthrough research into synthetic biology using engineering principles from UK-based universities.
Led by the Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre at
Warwick’s School of Engineering and the Faculty of Health
and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, new research
has discovered how to dynamically manage the allocation
of essential resources inside engineered cells – advancing
the potential of synthetically programming cells to combat
diseases and produce new drugs.
The researchers have developed a way to efficiently control
the distribution of ribosomes – microscopic ‘factories’ inside
cells that build proteins that keep the cell alive and functional
– to both the synthetic circuit and the host cell.
Synthetic circuitry is added to the host cells to enhance the
performance of the cell to produce desired proteins. Adding
synthetic circuitry will enable the cell to be used as a factory to
produce antibiotics and other valuable drugs. This will create
great potentials in healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
When the synthetic circuitry is added to the host cell, they both
compete for the resources produced by the ribosome as the
number of ribosome in the cell is finite.
The researchers have demonstrated how ribosomes can
be distributed dynamically, using engineering principle of
feedback loop which is used in aircraft flight control system,
this will help in allocating ribosomes to the synthetic circuit
when it requires and less to the host cell and vice versa.
TACKLING IMPORTANT CHALLENGES
Declan Bates, Professor of Bioengineering at the University of
Warwick’s School of Engineering and Co-Director, Warwick
Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB), said: “Synthetic
biology is about making cells easier to engineer so that we
can address many of the most important challenges facing
us today – from manufacturing new drugs and therapies to
finding new biofuels and materials.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY IS ABOUT MAKING CELLS EASIER TO
ENGINEER SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS MANY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES FACING US TODAY – FROM MANUFACTURING NEW DRUGS AND THERAPIES TO FINDING NEW BIOFUELS AND MATERIALS.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 11
DRUG-PRODUCING BACTERIA ENGINEERED USING SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY (CONT.)
He added: “It’s been hugely exciting in this project to see an
engineering idea, developed on a computer, being built in a lab
and working inside a living cell.”
José Jiménez, Lecturer in Synthetic Biology at the University
of Surrey’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, said: “The
ultimate goal of the selective manipulation of cellular functions
like the one carried out in this project is to understand
fundamental principles of biology itself.
By learning about how cells operate and testing the
constraints under which they evolve, we can come up with
ways of engineering cells more efficiently for a wide range of
applications in biotechnology.
“Ribosomes live inside cells, and construct proteins when
required for a cellular function. When a cell needs protein, the
nucleus creates mRNA, which is sent to the ribosomes – which
then synthesise the essential proteins by bonding the correct
amino acids together in a chain.”
The topic of synthetic biology is gaining ground across the
globe. In May of this year, scientific institutions from countries
across the globe came together to launch a new alliance to
help develop synthetic biology.
The Global Alliance of Biofoundries (GBA) brings together
16 institutions from countries including the UK, US, Japan,
Singapore, China, Australia, Denmark and Canada.
The London DNA Foundry, based at Imperial College London,
is one of the leading founders of the new Global Alliance.
The GBA will share knowledge, infrastructure and expertise
to tackle global challenges and play a central role in
the ‘synthetic biology revolution’ and the transition to a
new global bio-based economy. Biofoundries are being
established at universities and institutions around the world to
provide the infrastructure and technology to both accelerate
academic research and develop the new synthetic biology
industry. Examples of research include manufacturing new
vaccines and developing living therapeutics, designing and
building DNA, creating biofuels, and making bioplastics more
effectively and sustainably.
Professor Paul Freemont, Co-Director of the London DNA
Foundry based at Imperial, said: “The Global Alliance of
Biofoundries is a major step to accelerating the synthetic
biology industry worldwide.
“It will provide researchers around the globe with the tools and
technologies to exploit fundamental research and will support
new industries to develop. “Modern biology will be led by these
foundries which will benefit society and drive the transition to
a global bioeconomy.” Professor Richard Kitney, Co-Director
of the UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre for Synthetic
Biology, SynbiCITE said: “Synthetic biology is one of the most
exciting and rapidly growing scientific areas.
“The last five years has seen a number of biofoundries set
up around the world and this new Alliance will bring them
together to collaborate and tackle global challenges.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 12
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY USED TO TARGET CANCER CELLS WHILE
SPARING HEALTHY TISSUE
A synthetic protein has demonstrated the ability to kill cancer cells whilst sparing healthy ones, according to a recent study from US-based Stanford University School of Medicine.
Some types of cancers are caused by mutated or
overexpressed cell surface proteins that signal to the nucleus
to drive uncontrolled growth and survival, according to the
researchers. However, the researchers say that they have been
able to use an approach called RASER (rewiring of aberrant
signaling to effector release) to ensure that cancer-causing
signals are redirected away from cell growth and survival and
toward programmed cell death.
According to the researchers, RASER relies on only two
proteins. The first is activated in the presence of an “always
on” growth signal often found in cancer cells, and the second
carries out a researcher-programmed response, such as
triggering the expression of genes involved in cell death.
Although the experiments were confined to cells grown in the
laboratory, the researchers believe the results could lead to a
new type of cancer therapy in which synthetic proteins deliver
highly targeted and customisable treatments to sidestep the
sometimes devastating side effects of current options.
“We’re effectively rewiring the cancer cells to bring about
an outcome of our choosing,” said Michael Lin, MD, PhD,
Associate Professor of neurobiology and of bioengineering.
“We’ve always searched for a way to kill cancer cells but not
normal cells. Cancer cells arise from faulty signals that allow
them to grow inappropriately, so we’ve hacked into cancer
cells to redirect these faulty signals to something useful.”
A paper describing the work was published 2 May in journal
Science. Lin is the senior author. Former graduate student
Hokyung Chung, PhD, is the lead author.
BACKGROUND
Many cancers rely on a series of signals that originate from
proteins called receptors that span the membrane of the cell.
These signaling cascades, or pathways, are used by healthy
cells to grow in response to external cues, for example during
development or recovery from injury. Often, however, these
receptor proteins are mutated or overexpressed in cancer cells
in ways that render the receptor protein “always on”, providing
the cell with constant, unwarranted signals for growth.
The researchers focused on two receptors, EGFR and
HER2—members of a family of receptors called the ErbB
receptors—that often drive the growth of brain, lung and
breast cancers. These are often the target of many common
anti-cancer drugs.
Stanford researchers have developed synthetic proteins that can rewire cancer cells in a lab dish. © Stanford University School of Medicine
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 13
Many common anti-cancer drugs, including Herceptin, work
by blocking the cascade of signals triggered by receptor
activation. Receptor targeting drugs, such as Herceptin for
breast cancer, are effective at blocking the growth signals,
though lack the ability to discriminate between cancerous and
non-cancerous cells, resulting in the death of both cells alike.
That’s where Lin and his team come in.
“We haven’t had a drug that can tell the difference between a
pathway signaling normally and one that is abnormally active,” Lin
said. “We knew we needed a better strategy, a more rational way
of treating cancer. But we’ve not had a way to do it until recently.”
To overcome this issue, the group used RASER.
Chung and her colleagues designed a synthetic protein
consisting of two natural proteins fused together—one that
binds to active ErbB receptors and another that cleaves a
specific amino acid sequence. They then engineered a second
protein that binds to the inner surface of the cell membrane
and contains a customisable “cargo” sequence that can carry
out specific actions in the cell. When the first protein binds to
an active ErbB receptor, it cuts the second protein and releases
the cargo into the interior of the cell.
“When the receptor protein is always on, as it is in cancer cells,
the released cargo protein accumulates over time,” Chung
said. “Eventually enough accumulates to have an effect on the
cell. In this way, the system produces an effect only in cancer
cells, and we can convert the always-on state of the receptor
into different outcomes through the choice of cargo protein.”
After several rounds of tinkering, the team saw that their RASER
system was highly specific for cancer cells dependent on ErbB
receptor activity. For their first test they chose to use a protein
involved in triggering cell death as the RASER cargo.
The team compared the RASER system to two currently used
breast cancer therapies, chemotherapy and an ErbB inhibitor,
on a variety of in vitro cultured breast and lung cell types;
cancerous with overactive ErbB, cancerous with normal ErbB
activity and non-cancerous.
They found that, of the treatments tested, only RASER
demonstrated specificity in killing cells with an overactive
ErbB pathway. The traditional chemotherapy regime killed
cells indiscriminately and the effect of the ErbB inhibitor varied
though showed no correlation to pathway activity levels.
Currently, the RASER approach has only been demonstrated on
cell culture and more work is needed to determine its viability
as a treatment for human tumours in vivo. However, the team
remain excited about the possible applications of the system,
utilising its customisability to recognise other mutated receptors
and using different cargos to achieve different results.
Lin said he was optimistic about future studies, adding: “We
have so much more information now about cancer genomics,
signaling and how cancer cells interact with the immune system.
It’s finally becoming practical to combine this knowledge with
synthetic biology approaches to tackle some of these pressing
human health problems. RASER is both customisable and
generalisable, and it allows us for the first time to selectively
target cancer cells while sparing normal signaling pathways.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY USED TO TARGET CANCER CELLS WHILE
SPARING HEALTHY TISSUE (CONT.)
RASER IS BOTH CUSTOMISABLE AND GENERALISABLE, AND IT
ALLOWS US FOR THE FIRST TIME TO SELECTIVELY TARGET CANCER CELLS WHILE SPARING NORMAL SIGNALING PATHWAYS”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 14
BIOSECURITY TOOL TO DETECT ENGINEERED ORGANISMS IN WILD
If a synthetically or genetically engineered organism is released into the environment, how will we know? This is a question trying to be answered by a multi-institution research team from US Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The team, led by Eric Young, assistant professor of chemical engineering at WPI, is developing a biosecurity tool that can detect genetically or synthetically engineered microorganisms based on their unique DNA signatures.
The tool can identify engineered organisms when they are
mixed in with a myriad of naturally occurring microorganisms,
WPI said in a statement. It can also be used to protect a
company’s intellectual property should an organism it
designed accidentally escape the lab or to detect intentional
releases of potentially harmful organisms.
The DNA signature tool project is funded by an 18-month
award from the Finding Engineering Linked Indicators (FELIX)
programme, which is run through Intelligence Advanced
Research Projects Activity (IARPA), an organisation within the US’
Office of the Director of National Intelligence that funds research
to address challenges facing the US intelligence community.
The award has a second phase that could be renewed for
an additional 24 months. Raytheon, a Massachusetts-based
defense contractor, is the primary contractor; Young, who has
received a $377,746 award for his part of the project, is one of
five subcontractors. The others are Johns Hopkins University,
Princeton University, University of California at San Francisco, and
Mission Bio, a San Francisco-based biotech company.
“We realise the power of engineering and bioengineering,”
said Young, whose expertise is in synthetic biology, including
the genetic engineering of bacteria, yeast, and fungi. “We are
excited about the promise of synthetic biology, but we also
have an ethical responsibility to think about the potentially
negative uses of the technologies we develop.
“My lab is developing engineered organisms to solve problems,
and we use safety practices beyond what we are required to use,”
he added. “Hopefully, this project will lead us to a low-cost tool
that we can use to make sure everyone is working to prevent the
release of organisms into the environment, from universities to
manufacturing plants to DIY bio enthusiasts in their garages.”
Scientists create engineered microorganisms by introducing
new genes into their genomes that enable them to produce
valuable drugs, biofuels, or food products. A bacterium
containing the human gene for producing insulin, or a yeast
bearing multiple genes from several organisms to make the
antimalarial drug artemisinin are examples.
WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROMISE OF SYNTHETIC
BIOLOGY, BUT WE ALSO HAVE AN ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THINK ABOUT THE POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE USES OF THE TECHNOLOGIES WE DEVELOP.”
WPI chemical engineering professor Eric Young helps to develop new biosecurity tool
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 15
BIOSECURITY TOOL TO DETECT ENGINEERED ORGANISMS IN WILD (CONT.)
‘NON-ENGINEERED COUSINS’
Because many of the genes in these engineered organisms
exist in nature, telling them apart from non-engineered
organisms in soil or water samples can be challenging. “It’s akin
to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack,” Young said.
He added that the key to making that distinction will be
identifying genetic signatures for each organism. By virtue
of the way they are produced, the majority of genetically
engineered organisms have one or more short sections of DNA
that are unique to their genomes and make them different
from their non-engineered cousins. These DNA signatures can
be used as markers to quickly spot an engineered organism
in a population of naturally occurring microorganisms.
Young’s role in the research project is to generate examples of
bioengineered organisms that contain these specific markers.
“We are supplying the ‘expert’ information the detection
device will look for,” he said. “We are taking into account the
genetic engineering of the past 50 years and reducing all of
that knowledge and information down to a set of essential
signatures for bioengineered organisms that we would most
likely need to find. It’s up to our sponsor and the team to
decide which organisms are important, and we help decide
what signatures we have to look at. It’s very exciting work.”
Initially, Young, who is working with two graduate students,
will focus on brewer’s yeast, which he says is increasingly
becoming the organism-of-choice for bioengineering
companies because it is easy to engineer and simple to grow,
given the decades of large-scale fermentation experience in
the brewing industry.
The signatures he is identifying will be useful for detecting
known engineered organisms that may have come from
corporate and university labs. Detecting potentially harmful
organisms that may have been intentionally released into the
environment will be a greater challenge.
“It’s a whole lot more complicated when you don’t know
what organisms you might need to look for,” he said. “We
have to think about what is most likely to be out there
and what would somebody with limited resources create.
We need to create tools that can detect a wide range of
engineered organisms. And they need to be flexible enough
that they could detect a specific set of signatures but then
detect newly added signatures as they are found. We are
helping develop a technology to do that.”
The knowledge Young is generating will ultimately be
incorporated into a benchtop detection device that will be
developed by other members of the research team. Other
team members are creating machine learning algorithms that
will find new signatures that experts may not identify.
Young said he expects a usable detection device for yeast
will be ready at the conclusion of the programme, but
it could be five to ten years before the more complex
challenges are solved.
WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS MOST LIKELY TO BE OUT THERE
AND WHAT WOULD SOMEBODY WITH LIMITED RESOURCES CREATE.”
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY REPORT – JUNE 2019 16
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
2019 EDITORIAL SCHEDULE
#11 AUTUMN / FALL 2018 / WWW.BIOBASEDWORLDNEWS.COM
THE FIRST ‘COTTON + CORN’ SHOE FROM REEBOK’S SUSTAINABLE RANGE HITS THE SHOPS. “MOST ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR IS MADE USING PETROLEUM TO CREATE SYNTHETIC RUBBER AND FOAM CUSHIONING SYSTEMS. WITH 20 BILLION PAIRS OF SHOES MADE EVERY YEAR, THIS IS NOT A SUSTAINABLE WAY OF MAKING FOOTWEAR”
PROJECT FOCUS: HOW A BIO-BASED SOLUTION CAN SOLVE OUR PLASTIC TRAY PROBLEM.
CHANGE AND CONTINUITY - THE INSIDE STORY OF 10 YEARS OF THE NORDIC WOOD BIOREFINERY CONFERENCE (NWBC).
BAD NEWS FOR BIO-BASED CHEMICALS AS EU DECLARES THAT GENE EDITING IS GENETIC MODIFICATION.
HOW AN OUTDOOR CLOTHING BRAND AND THE BASQUE CIDER TRADITION HAVE PARTNERED TO CREATE NATURAL DYES.
SPECIAL REPORT: THE GLOBAL HEATWAVE’S IMPACT ON THE BIO-ECONOMY.
GO TO ARTICLE
ENTER
#12 WINTER 2018 / 19 / WWW.BIOBASEDWORLDNEWS.COM
RECYCLED, REUSED OR COMPOSTED - DANONE ANNOUNCE TRIO OF ACTIONS TO BE FULLY CIRCULAR BY 2025.
THE GREEN REVOLUTION WILL BE BLUE: HARVESTING ALGAE FOR THE BIO-ECONOMY.
BRANDS: A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO BIO-BASED CHEMICALS.
IT’S OFFICIAL! BRASKEM’S CARBON-NEGATIVE CLAIMS FOR ITS BIO-BASED PLASTIC ARE APPROVED.
AND MUCH, MUCH MORE….
MEET THE TEAM SOURCING VALUABLE NEW HARVESTS FROM OUR FORESTS.
“WE BELIEVE THIS PROJECT WILL CHANGE THE WAY THE WOOD INDUSTRY IS PERCEIVED”
ENTER
GO TO ARTICLE
HOW A UNIQUE SET OF BUILDING BLOCKS HAVE CREATED A VIBRANT AND GROWING BIO-ECONOMY IN CANADA.
GUEST VIEW: BREXIT AND THE BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES
PERFORMANCE IS KEY AS CHECKERSPOT PREPARES TO LAUNCH A PRODUCT FOR THE WINTER SPORTS MARKET
INSIDE THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN REG, EXXONMOBIL AND CLARIANT THAT IS REVOLUTIONISING CELLULOSIC BIOFUELS
THE PORT OF AMSTERDAM AS A CIRCULAR HOTSPOT: HOW A PORT SPEEDS UP THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
HOW ALLBIRDS ARE PUTTING THEIR BEST FOOT FORWARD FOR BIO-BASED FOOTWEAR
ENTER
#13 SPRING 19 / WWW.BIOMARKETINSIGHTS.COM
JUNE SEPTEMBER
NOVEMBER MARCH 2020
BIO-BASED WORLD QUARTERLY ISSUE #14
Deadline for content / adverts: Friday 7th
Publication date: Week commencing
Monday 24th
BIO-BASED WORLD QUARTERLY ISSUE #15
Deadline for content / adverts: Friday 6th
Publication date: Week commencing
Monday 16th
BIO-BASED WORLD QUARTERLY ISSUE #16
Deadline for content / adverts: Friday 1st
Publication date: Week commencing Monday
18th December
BIO-BASED WORLD QUARTERLY ISSUE #17
Deadline for content / adverts:
Friday 28th February
Publication date: Week commencing Monday 16th
Special printed edition distributed at
World Bio Markets 2020