Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.001
Chris J Myers
{"title":"Improved provenance tracking by documenting plasmids within their own sequence.","authors":"Chris J Myers","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In a recent article, Hernandez et al. introduced a framework for plasmid self-documentation. It uses the data storage capabilities of the DNA of a plasmid to capture either direct documentation or a reference to full documentation. The approach is robust and experimentally verified to both write information to, and read information from, the plasmid of interest.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2099-2100"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144970735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-05-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.04.008
Erik Zhivkoplias, Jessica M da Silva, Robert Blasiak
{"title":"How transdisciplinarity can help biotech-driven biodiversity research.","authors":"Erik Zhivkoplias, Jessica M da Silva, Robert Blasiak","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.04.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.04.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marks a significant step toward conserving genetic diversity on a global scale. Sequencing advancements have broadened biodiversity studies by enabling the mapping of species distributions, increasing understanding of ecological interactions, and monitoring genetic diversity. However, these tools are hindered by inequalities and biases, particularly in biodiversity-rich developing countries. To navigate these challenges, we propose strategies using the existing biotechnological toolbox to make biodiversity data more accessible and useful for research and development. This includes increasing funding for database curation, improving metadata standards, addressing inequalities in technological capacity, and supporting holistic capacity-building programmes. Implementing these strategies can unlock new opportunities for biodiversity research aligned with sustainable development principles and can contribute to improved conservation outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2105-2116"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Engineering biological curvatures.","authors":"Jiaxing Gong, Kejie Lu, Ying Qian, Yu Shrike Zhang, Mengfei Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The curvatures within the human body have essential functions, but their fabrication remains relatively unexplored. We re-emphasize the importance of curvatures in native biological tissues, present technologies to fabricate biomimetic curvatures, and discuss the challenges of integrating curvatures into biomanufacturing. Finally, we recommend how to incorporate curvatures into engineered tissues.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2101-2104"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143605972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-05-07DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.010
Sarah I Hernandez, Samuel J Peccoud, Casey-Tyler Berezin, Jean Peccoud
{"title":"Self-documenting plasmids.","authors":"Sarah I Hernandez, Samuel J Peccoud, Casey-Tyler Berezin, Jean Peccoud","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plasmids are the workhorse of biotechnology. These small DNA molecules are used to produce recombinant proteins and to engineer living organisms. They can be regarded as the blueprints of many biotechnology products. Therefore, it is critical to ensure that the sequences of these DNA molecules match their intended designs. Yet, plasmid verification remains challenging. To secure the exchange of plasmids in research and development workflows, we have developed self-documenting plasmids that encode information about themselves in their own DNA molecules. Users of self-documenting plasmids can retrieve critical information about the plasmid without prior knowledge of the plasmid identity. The insertion of documentation in the plasmid sequence does not preclude their propagation in bacteria or functional fluorescent protein expression in mammalian cells. This technology simplifies plasmid verification, hardens supply chains, and has the potential to transform the protection of intellectual property (IP) in the life sciences.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2344-2361"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12353582/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144049873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-05-06DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.04.003
Chantal Treinen, Christina Peternell, Philipp Noll, Olivia Magosch, Rudolf Hausmann, Marius Henkel
{"title":"Molecular process control for industrial biotechnology.","authors":"Chantal Treinen, Christina Peternell, Philipp Noll, Olivia Magosch, Rudolf Hausmann, Marius Henkel","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The development of sustainable and economically competitive biotechnological processes is a central challenge of modern industrial biotechnology. Conventional strategies such as macroscopic and molecular bioprocess design are often insufficient to exploit their full potential. To circumvent this, molecular process control provides the missing link to further consolidate various optimization strategies to achieve multilayered process design. This review highlights the molecular mechanisms that can be exploited for molecular process control. These can either be endogenous or specifically implemented into the organism, and comprise regulatory mechanisms at the transcriptional, translational, and system levels. In addition to serving as a design tool to enhance existing bioprocesses, molecular process control is the gateway to biotechnological advances that will extend the boundaries of future process design.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2117-2132"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144050232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-03-25DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.017
William N Hait, Michal Preminger
{"title":"Academic entrepreneurship: promise and perils.","authors":"William N Hait, Michal Preminger","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As academic institutions strive to meet financial demands, a tantalizing opportunity posits that faculty have untapped treasures emanating from laboratories or astute clinical observations awaiting commercialization. 'If only this alchemy could be turned into gold', administrators muse. Understanding the complexities of academic entrepreneurship should provide words of caution and encouragement.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2090-2092"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143721611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-04-21DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.009
Naresh Yandrapalli
{"title":"Bottom-up development of lipid-based synthetic cells for practical applications.","authors":"Naresh Yandrapalli","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Synthetic cells (SCs) can be engineered from the bottom up to recapitulate the functional properties of natural cells while performing specialized tasks such as drug delivery, biosensors, bioproduction, vaccine development, and even environmental remediation. Recent advances in synthetic biology, biomaterials, and microfluidics have enabled the development of increasingly sophisticated SCs. Transitioning from proof-of-concept demonstrations to practical applications requires a deep understanding of the design principles, materials, and fabrication techniques involved. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of bottom-up SC technology and highlights the most promising approaches and applications. Challenges in the implementation of SCs and their prospects for future applications are also discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2150-2169"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143982728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-04-03DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.005
Davide Ribezzi, Pere Català, Cataldo Pignatelli, Antonio Citro, Riccardo Levato
{"title":"Bioprinting and synthetic biology approaches to engineer functional endocrine pancreatic constructs.","authors":"Davide Ribezzi, Pere Català, Cataldo Pignatelli, Antonio Citro, Riccardo Levato","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Diabetes is a complex disease affecting over 500 million people worldwide. Traditional approaches, such as insulin delivery, are mainstay treatments, but do not cure the disease. Recent advances in biofabrication and synthetic biology offer new hope for the development of tissue constructs recapitulating salient organ functions. Here, we discuss recent progress in bioprinting a functional endocrine pancreas, ranging from cell sources to main advances in biomaterials. We review innovative areas for the development of this field, with a particular focus on the convergence of synthetic biology and cell engineering with bioprinting, which opens new avenues for developing advanced in vitro models and regenerative, transplantable grafts, with the potential to provide independence from exogenous insulin administration.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2133-2149"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143789234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.05.019
Jiawei Li, Ziqing Qin, Baohui Zhang, Xiaofeng Wu, Huining Ji, Jing Wu, Yi Xiao
{"title":"Shifting the detection range of cell biosensors toward high concentrations using ligand-related exporters for applications.","authors":"Jiawei Li, Ziqing Qin, Baohui Zhang, Xiaofeng Wu, Huining Ji, Jing Wu, Yi Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.05.019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.05.019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cell biosensors are powerful tools for detecting chemical signals, but their performance is often limited by saturation and toxicity at high ligand concentrations. In this study, we introduced a strategy to shift the detection range of biosensors toward high ligand concentrations by using specific and nonspecific exporters within bacterial or mammalian cells. We optimized the biosensor of nisin A using the specific NisFEG exporter, shifting the detection range, and enabling more effective screening of high-yield producers. Furthermore, we identified the nonspecific AcrAB-TolC exporter, regulated by the regulatory activator MarA, which shifted the detection range of quorum-sensing (QS) biosensors, enabling their application for controlling cell autolysis and enhancing bioconversion. This system was also applied in a cancer therapy model, in which the biosensor-mediated release of therapeutic agents significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice. Our results demonstrate that ligand-related exporters can enhance biosensor performance in high-concentration environments, creating a versatile platform for applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2323-2343"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144326978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in biotechnologyPub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-03-27DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.003
Ha Rim Kim, Hongkeun Ji, Gi Bae Kim, Sang Yup Lee
{"title":"Enzyme functional classification using artificial intelligence.","authors":"Ha Rim Kim, Hongkeun Ji, Gi Bae Kim, Sang Yup Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.03.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Enzymes are essential for cellular metabolism, and elucidating their functions is critical for advancing biochemical research. However, experimental methods are often time consuming and resource intensive. To address this, significant efforts have been directed toward applying artificial intelligence (AI) to enzyme function prediction, enabling high-throughput and scalable approaches. In this review, we discuss advances in AI-driven enzyme functional annotation, transitioning from traditional machine learning (ML) methods to state-of-the-art deep learning approaches. We highlight how deep learning enables models to automatically extract features from raw data without manual intervention, leading to enhanced performance. Finally, we discuss the discovery of novel enzyme functions and generation of de novo enzymes through the integration of generative AIs and bio big data as future research directions.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"2214-2231"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143744054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}