Topic “research”
Engineered orthogonally selective riboswitches reported
Riboswitches are structural elements typically found in the untranslated regions of bacterial or eukaryotic mRNAs. These riboswitches generally dictate the gene expression of corresponding genes by interacting with small target molecules or metabolites. Binding of naturally occurring metabolites to the aptamer domain of riboswitch mRNA causes structural changes in the gene expression machinery that control expression levels.
SynBERC bioengineers launch world's first biological design-build facilty
With seed money from the National Science Foundation (NSF), SynBERC bioengineers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University are ramping up efforts to characterize the thousands of control elements critical to the engineering of microbes, so that eventually researchers can mix and match these "DNA parts" in synthetic organisms to produce new drugs, fuels or chemicals.
Team produces valuable chemicals from microbes
SynBERC investigator Chris Voigt and a group of graduate students from his lab took a leap forward in the pursuit of chemicals derived not from petroleum but from renewable sources. The chemical target was methyl halides, a chemical precursor to several high-value chemicals, and which the oil industry already knows how to derive gasoline from.
Researchers engineer microbes to produce fuel from biomass
A team of researchers from SynBERC, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), and biotech firm LS9 has developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel directly from biomass. Deploying the tools of synthetic biology, the researchers engineered a strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria to produce biodiesel fuel and other important chemicals derived from fatty acids.
UC Berkeley iGEM Synthetic Biology Summer Research Program
Imagine!
- Replacing nonrenewable energy sources with solar-powered bacteria
- Curing diseases with engineered microbes
- Producing new biochemicals and materials in cells
These are some of the goals of synthetic biology, a new field that seeks to design and build novel biological systems to accomplish specific tasks.
Second wave of synthetic biology
A Nature review article by Priscilla Purnick and new SynBERC investigator Ron Weiss offers a peek at how synbio research might shape up. The authors assert that, until now, the field has focused on the non-trivial challenge of combining basic elements (promoters, RBSs, repressors, etc.) into functional and robust modules (switches, pulse generators, cascades, etc.). These efforts have allowed control over the “central dogma” of cellular function (transcription, translation, and post-translational control).
Workshops tackle biological design automation
Two meetings in the Bay Area have taken a fresh look at the role of computerized automation in the design of biological systems. The first meeting, which took place on July 26 at Stanford and was sponsored by the BioBricks Foundation, was intended to further develop a data and information exchange standard(s) supporting synthetic biology.
Life Technologies, other industry partners co-sponsor SynBERC yeast workshop
SynBERC, Life Technologies and other SynBERC Industrial Partners have tentatively planned a workshop on Yeast Synthetic Biology Tools. The workshop, tentatively scheduled for November 14 at UCSF’s Mission Bay Campus, arose from conversations among several SynBERC and IAB members over the past several months around a common interest in yeast synthetic biology tools development and application.
Super fermentation testbed boots up
Work is beginning on an industry-inspired testbed that aims to construct an advanced fermentation organism. Led by Chris Voigt, the new testbed aims to apply research from the SynBERC thrusts (parts, devices, chassis) to the construction of a “smart” strain that can be programmed to sense and respond to conditions encountered during a fermentation. The focus will be on the construction of a generic system that is applicable to many potential pathways. E. coli has been chosen as the model system because of the availability of platform parts/devices and genome replacement tools.
