Engineering biology最新文献

{"title":"Engineering biology in the environment and sustainability","authors":"Sierin Lim,&nbsp;Travis Bayer","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12019","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This IET <i>Engineering Biology</i> special issue in Environment and Sustainability is launched in anticipation of the call for actions to mitigate climate change following the conclusion of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) at Glasgow. The mitigation requires multi-pronged approaches and innovations, that include reduction of coal usage, cutting back methane emission, sequestration of CO₂, financing, to name a few. But, more can and need to be done. There is a pressing need to move to environmentally friendly, sustainable low-carbon solutions. Synthetic biology has been mentioned to be one of the breakthroughs that will enable inventions towards better future. Engineered biological systems have unique value propositions in solving the challenges through the creation of technologies that are environmentally sustainable.</p><p>The Special Issue aims to bring together perspectives and showcase the latest research in engineering biology as solutions to environmental and sustainability challenges we urgently need to address. Of particular interest are sustainable materials, biomanufacturing, agriculture, wastes (e.g., plastic, water, food, electronic), circular bioeconomy and the society. Contributions are from multi- and interdisciplinary researchers in academia and industry that are focused on the development and application of engineered biological systems and their impacts on driving the bioeconomy.</p><p>Presented here are the first three articles that summarise the three generations of biomass feedstock as the substrate for bioconversion into value-added molecules, the implications of the formats of plastic substrate in engineering of the plastic degrading enzyme, PETase, and engineered microbes in electronic waste bioremediation.</p><p>As biomanufacturing of molecules expands to varieties of products from pharmaceuticals to bulk materials, the quest for sustainable biomass feedstocks from which fermentable sugars can be extracted, is becoming central to its industrialisation. David Lips provides a succinct summary on the three generations of biomass feedstocks, their challenges, and prospects for the future of biomanufacturing.</p><p>Beyond sugar, research groups have started looking into exploiting other molecular substrates for bioconversion, including plastic waste. The most abundant plastic waste is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The discovery of the PET degrading enzymes, cutinase and PETase, has spurred attempts to engineer the enzymes with higher reaction rates and robust activities. Sana et al. present a comprehensive review highlighting the implications of PET substrates on the design and engineering of the next generation PET-degrading enzymes.</p><p>Electronic waste, e-waste, has been increasing over the past decades. Recovery of precious metals has been relying on both physical and chemical methods. The review by Han et al. summarizes the components of e-waste that include precious metals and plastics, the adv","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"6 1","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/74/da/ENB2-6-1.PMC9995157.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9229099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fuelling the future of sustainable sugar fermentation across generations","authors":"David Lips","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12017","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biomanufacturing in the form of industrial sugar fermentation is moving beyond pharmaceuticals and biofuels into chemicals, materials, and food ingredients. As the production scale of these increasingly consumer-facing applications expands over the next decades, considerations regarding the environmental impact of the renewable biomass feedstocks used to extract fermentable sugars will become more important. Sugars derived from first-generation biomass in the form of, for example, corn and sugarcane are easily accessible and support high-yield fermentation processes, but are associated with the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, land use, and competition with other applications in food and feed. Fermentable sugars can also be extracted from second- and third-generation feedstocks in the form of lignocellulose and macroalgae, respectively, potentially overcoming some of these concerns. Doing so, however, comes with various challenges, including the need for more extensive pretreatment processes and the fermentation of mixed and unconventional sugars. In this review, we provide a broad overview of these three generations of biomass feedstocks, outlining their challenges and prospects for fuelling the industrial fermentation industry throughout the 21st century.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"6 1","pages":"3-16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/c9/65/ENB2-6-3.PMC9995162.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9183383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Building the UK's industrial base in engineering biology","authors":"Richard I. Kitney","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12016","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12016","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The paper describes the strategy and components that have been put in place to build the UK's research and industrial base in Engineering Biology. The initial section of the paper provides a brief historical overview of the development of the field in the United Kingdom. This comprised, principally, a major report by the Royal Academy of Engineering and a strategic roadmap for synthetic biology, together with the establishment of six new synthetic biology research centres, a national centre for the industrial translation of synthetic biology and five biofoundries. The next section of the paper describes the UK government’s policy for the field. Important elements of the implementation of the policy comprises people, Infrastructure, Business Environment and place. In this context, a number of important areas are addressed—including industrial translation; building an expert workforce and nucleating, incubating and accelerating a new engineering biology industry in the United Kingdom. The final portion of the paper addresses the author's view of the way forward. This comprises placing the development of the field, both nationally and internationally, in the context of the development of the Bioeconomy and Climate Change. The final section of the text addresses a specific strategic approach and the implications for the United Kingdom in relation to the development of its industrial base in Engineering Biology.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 4","pages":"98-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9996696/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9561620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent advances of integrated microfluidic suspension cell culture system","authors":"Yi Jing Kerk,&nbsp;Aysha Jameel,&nbsp;Xin-Hui Xing,&nbsp;Chong Zhang","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12015","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12015","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microfluidic devices with superior microscale fluid manipulation ability and large integration flexibility offer great advantages of high throughput, parallelisation and multifunctional automation. Such features have been extensively utilised to facilitate cell culture processes such as cell capturing and culturing under controllable and monitored conditions for cell-based assays. Incorporating functional components and microfabricated configurations offered different levels of fluid control and cell manipulation strategies to meet diverse culture demands. This review will discuss the advances of single-phase flow and droplet-based integrated microfluidic suspension cell culture systems and their applications for accelerated bioprocess development, high-throughput cell selection, drug screening and scientific research to insight cell biology. Challenges and future prospects for this dynamically developing field are also highlighted.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 4","pages":"81-97"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9996741/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9561624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"BioInspired, BioDriven, BioMADE: The U.S. Bioindustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem as a driver of the 4th Industrial Revolution","authors":"Patrick P. Rose,&nbsp;Douglas Friedman","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12014","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>When we think about the potential that biology has to offer, the U.S. Bioindustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem or BioMADE slogan could read, ‘we don't make the products you buy, we make the products that you buy, with biology’. BioMADE is a non-profit public–private partnership between the U.S. government and the private sector to leverage the work already accomplished in industry, accelerate the bioindustrial revolution, and create a stronger, resilient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly manufacturing ecosystem. BioMADE endeavours to be a leader, an enabler, and a beacon for how contemporary manufacturing can be transformed with biology to mature the bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem. The institute cannot go this path alone to solve all the problems and coalesce the existing ecosystem. It requires determination and commitment from the private sector, academia, non-profit research institutions and national laboratories; the entire community. Many technical challenges and adoption hurdles still loom high. Industry and consumers need to start accepting that engineering biology has a critical role to play in the manufacturing of many of the materials and products we use today.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 3","pages":"60-63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9996699/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9527929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementing adaptive risk management for synthetic biology: Lessons from iGEM's safety and security programme","authors":"Piers Millett,&nbsp;Tessa Alexanian","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12012","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12012","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Synthetic biology offers exciting possibilities to deal with local and global challenges over the coming decades. As we make greater use of biological engineering, it will be increasingly important to balance potential risks and benefits. The rate, scale, and diffusion of relevant capabilities will make this challenging. There will be a growing need for flexible risk management approaches, which can be rapidly adapted as technology and societal needs change. This study details efforts by the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in creating and implementing an adaptive risk management approach. It concludes with key lessons and challenges: working with hazardous materials, such as dangerous pathogens, toxins and chemicals; managing risks to plants, animals and the environment; use of samples from people, animals, and the environment; improving the hazards identified; variations in risk perception and tolerance; variation in terminology that complicates interpretation of risk management plans; and connections with broader societal or ethical questions, such as animal use, gender and sexuality, or benefit sharing.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 3","pages":"64-71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/83/6e/ENB2-5-64.PMC9996700.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9190954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A high-throughput screening method for the discovery of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts with potential in the brewing industry","authors":"Jose E. Aguiar-Cervera,&nbsp;Daniela Delneri,&nbsp;Oliver Severn","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12013","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12013","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Both <i>Saccharomyces</i> and non-<i>Saccharomyces</i> yeast strains are of great importance for the fermentation industry, especially with the flourishing of craft breweries, which are driving current innovations. Non-conventional yeasts can produce novel beverages with attractive characteristics such as flavour, texture, and reduced alcohol content; however, they have been poorly explored. A new method for screening the fitness of conventional and non-conventional yeast libraries utilising robotic platforms and solidified media representing industrial conditions is proposed. As proof of concept, a library formed of 6 conventional and 17 non-conventional yeast strains was distributed in 96, 384 and 1536 arrays onto a YPD agar medium. Following this, the library was replicated in different conditions mimicking beer and cider fermentation conditions. The colony size was monitored over time, and fitness values measured in maximum pixels/h and maximum biomass were calculated. Significant differences in growth were observed in between the different strains and conditions. As examples, <i>Candida milleri</i> Y-7245 displayed good performance in wort conditions, and <i>Kazachstania yakushimaensis</i> Y-48837 stood out for its performance in apple juice. The method is proposed to be used as a pre-screening step when studying vast yeast libraries. This would enable interested parties to discover potential hits for further study at a low initial cost. Furthermore, this method can be used in other applications where the desired screening media can be solidified.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 3","pages":"72-80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/81/b6/ENB2-5-72.PMC9996697.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9190959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ten future challenges for synthetic biology","authors":"Olivia Gallup,&nbsp;Hia Ming,&nbsp;Tom Ellis","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12011","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12011","url":null,"abstract":"<p>After 2 decades of growth and success, synthetic biology has now become a mature field that is driving significant innovation in the bioeconomy and pushing the boundaries of the biomedical sciences and biotechnology. So what comes next? In this article, 10 technological advances are discussed that are expected and hoped to come from the next generation of research and investment in synthetic biology; from ambitious projects to make synthetic life, cell simulators and custom genomes, through to new methods of engineering biology that use automation, deep learning and control of evolution. The non-exhaustive list is meant to inspire those joining the field and looks forward to how synthetic biology may evolve over the coming decades.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 3","pages":"51-59"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9996719/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9183348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Protein cages as building blocks for superstructures","authors":"Ruoxuan Sun,&nbsp;Sierin Lim","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12010","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Proteins naturally self-assemble to function. Protein cages result from the self-assembly of multiple protein subunits that interact to form hollow symmetrical structures with functions that range from cargo storage to catalysis. Driven by self-assembly, building elegant higher-order superstructures with protein cages as building blocks has been an increasingly attractive field in recent years. It presents an engineering challenge not only at the molecular level but also at the supramolecular level. The higher-order constructs are proposed to provide access to diverse functional materials. Focussing on design strategy as a perspective, current work on protein cage supramolecular self-assembly are reviewed from three principles that are electrostatic, metal-ligand coordination and inherent symmetry. The review also summarises possible applications of the superstructure architecture built using modified protein cages.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 2","pages":"35-42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/5f/0a/ENB2-5-35.PMC9996708.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9560625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Addressing the post-COVID era through engineering biology","authors":"Jennifer Bell,&nbsp;Jim Philp,&nbsp;Richard I. Kitney","doi":"10.1049/enb2.12008","DOIUrl":"10.1049/enb2.12008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Currently, the world is faced with two fundamental issues of great importance, namely climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. These are intimately involved with the need to control climate change and the need to switch from high carbon, unsustainable economies to low carbon economies. Inherent in this approach are the concepts of the bioeconomy and the Green Industrial Revolution. The article addresses both issues, but it, principally, focusses on the development of the bioeconomy. It considers how nations are divided in relation to the use of biotechnology and synthetic biology in terms of their bioeconomy strategies. The article addresses, as a central theme, the nature and role of engineering biology in these developments. Engineering biology is addressed in terms of BioDesign, coupled with high levels of automation (including AI and machine learning) to increase reproducibility and reliability to meet industrial standards. This lends itself to distributed manufacturing of products in a range of fields. Engineering biology is a platform technology that can be applied in a range of sectors. The bioeconomy, as an engine for economic growth is addressed—in terms of moving from oil-based economies to bio-based economies—using biomass, for example, using selected lignocellulosic waste as a feedstock.</p>","PeriodicalId":72921,"journal":{"name":"Engineering biology","volume":"5 2","pages":"21-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1049/enb2.12008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48695304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}