Synthetic Biology Synthetic Biology Extreme Genetic

Engineering

Jim Thomas

ETC Group.

Designing Lifeforms in the

21st Century…

A Rough Guide to

$ 3000

7500bp

atgcgtaaaggagaagaacttttcactggagttgtcccaattcttgttgaattagatggtgatgttaatgggcacaaattttctgtcagtggagagggtgaaggtgatgcaacatacggaaaacttacccttaaatttatttgcactactggaaaactacctgttccatggccaacacttgtcactactttcggttatggtgttcaatgctttgcgagatacccagatcatatgaaacagcatgactttttcaagagtgccatgcccgaaggttatgtacaggaaagaactatatttttcaaagatgacgggaactacaagacacgtgctgaagtcaagtttgaaggtgatacccttgttaatagaatcgagttaaaaggtattgattttaaagaagatggaaacattcttggacacaaattggaatacaactataactcacacaatgtatacatcatggcagacaaacaaaagaatggaatcaaagttaacttcaaaattagacacaacattgaagatggaagcgttcaactagcagaccattatcaacaaaatactccaattggcgatggccctgtccttttaccagacaaccattacctgtccacacaatctgccctttcgaaagatcccaacgaaaagagagaccacatggtccttcttgagtttgtaacagctgctgggattacacatggcatggatgaactatacaaataataa

Synbio

Cells

=

Seven

Steps

Café

Latte

=

Twelve

Steps

(And costs more in

equipment)

BBa_E0030 Part-only sequence (723bp)

atggtgagcaagggcgaggagctgttcaccggggtggtgcccatcctggtcgagctggacggcgacgtaaacggccacaagttcagcgtgtccggcgagggcgagggcgatgccacctacggcaagctgaccctgaagttcatctgcaccaccggcaagctgcccgtgccctggcccaccctcgtgaccaccttcggctacggcctgcaatgcttcgcccgctaccccgaccacatgaagctgcacgacttcttcaagtccgccatgcccgaaggctacgtccaggagcgcaccatcttcttcaaggacgacggcaactacaagacccgcgccgaggtgaagttcgagggcgacaccctggtgaaccgcatcgagctgaagggcatcgacttcaaggaggacggcaacatcctggggcacaagctggagtacaactacaacagccacaacgtctatatcatggccgacaagcagaagaacggcatcaaggtgaacttcaagatccgccacaacatcgaggacggcagcgtgcagctcgccgaccactaccagcagaacacccccatcggcgacggccccgtgctgctgcccgacaaccactacctgagctaccagtccgccctgagcaaagaccccaacgagaagcgcgatcacatggtcctgctggagttcgtgaccgccgccgggatcactctcggcatggacgagctgtacaagtaataa

“Teenagers..”

“Biohackers…”

“Start-Ups…”

STEP 1: Use philanthropic money

to destroy african farm

livelihoods…

STEP 2: Use the same

technology to take over the

biofuels industry.

“Moguls…”

“Over the next 20 years, synthetic genomics is going to become the standard for making anything. The chemical industry will depend on it. Hopefully, a large part of the energy industry will depend on it.”

"We have modest goals of replacing the whole petrochemical industry and becoming a major source of energy,"

“Corporations…”

Why

Worry??

BIOWARFARE

Reasons to worry..

BIOPIRACY

Reasons to worry..

“We ought to be able to make any compound produced by a plant inside a microbe”

Jay Keasling

Engineered Biological Systems

ŅThe Amyris team of scientists and engineers is nowpoised to commercialize pharmaceuticals and otherhigh value, fine chemicals taken from the worldÕsforests and oceans by making these compounds insynthetic microbes.Ó

Artemisia annua - source of powerfulAnti-malarial compound

Q ui ckTi me™ and aTI FF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see thi s pi cture.

Lets say we want to digitally steal

guarana…

Reasons to worry..

STEP 1: identify the

plant

Paullinia cupana

Lets say we want to digitally steal

guarana…

Reasons to worry..

STEP 2: Find

appropriate gene

sequences on

GENBANK

Lets say we want to digitally steal

guarana…

Reasons to worry..

STEP 3: Order the

gene sequences from

a DNA synthesis

company

Lets say we want to digitally steal

guarana…

Reasons to worry..

STEP 4:Engineer

Synthetic DNA

pathways into microbe

and tinker to produce

Guarana extract

Reasons to worry..

NOTE!!!

No Material Transfer Agreement needed

(Access and Benefit Sharing)

Because

No MATERIAL is transferred.

“The poster boy for the commercialisation of research”

”The application of modern genomics techniques to the study of communities of microbial organisms directly in their natural environments, bypassing the need for isolation and lab cultivation of individual species.”

- Kevin Chen and Lior Pachtr (UC Berkeley)

Phase 1 METAGENOMICS

Massive Raw Materials Grab.

Sargasso:

1.4 million new genes

Halifax > Galapagos:

Six million new genes

4 million genes of foreign species in mouth, intestines etc - More bacterial cells than human cells -10 percent of what is in our bloodstream is bacterial metabolites

“We are as much dependent on bacterial metabolism as human metabolism” - Venter.

Minimal genome.

Transplantation

Full genome construction

+

+

Mycoplasma genitalium

Phase 1: An operating system

Mycoplasma laboratorium

Combinatorial Genomics - “ a new Cambrian Explosion”

I call it combinatorial genomics.. Its one of my better ideas if it works. In fact, its one of my better ideas if it

doesn’t work’ - Venter

+ +

= “Ten million genes are the design components of the

future, With combinatorial genomics and casette-based construction, we can make millions of genomes per day.”

- JC Venter

Plug-in gene

cassette system

Millions of new

sequences

Rapid Robotic

construction

Implications for ABS:

1. No identification at the organism level - delinked from traditional knowledge.

2. Faster identification of useful sequences. Ie rapid biopiracy.

3. No need for physical transfer of material - digital discovery.

4. More data you have the easier it is to disprove a single source.

BIOSAFETY

Reasons to worry..

“The engineers can come and rewire this and that. But biological systems are not simple...

And the engineers will find out that the bacteria are just laughing at them.” - Eckard Wimmer, SUNY StonyBrook

“The logical extrapolation from this experiment is to suggest that it is possible to make a genetically engineered microorganism that would kill all terrestrial plants. “

Dr Elaine Ingham. University of Oregon.

BIODEVESTATION (via the

Biomass Economy )

Reasons to worry..