Meeting report: The Cambridge BioDesign TechEvent – Synthetic Biology, a new “Age of Wonder”?

Abstract

A challenge facing the 21st century is global sustainability. Synthetic biology is an emerging technology, with the potential to be a critical part of the solution. Although it is hard to predict the ultimate applications of synthetic biology, it is imperative to prepare the groundwork required for responsible innovation. This entails raising awareness of the technology and its potential consequences. The Cambridge BioDesign TechEvent presented recent advances in synthetic biology to a wide community in order to promote interactions within and across academia, industry and governance. Our species's global footprint is unsustainable and it is unclear how or whether we will be able to change this. Biological engineering and particularly the emerging field of synthetic biology are considered to be a major part of the solution, promising clean, renewable and better food, energy production, goods manufacturing and healthcare. Synthetic biology introduces rational design rules to the engineering of biological systems, using a common suite of standard workflows and design tools. Technical advancements alone, however, are unlikely to provide solutions without accompanying changes in societal attitudes and behavior. The ultimate consequences of such a technological revolution are difficult, if not impossible, to predict. How can we shape the development of this emerging field to serve the common good? How can we realize its potential, while minimizing the risks? Our species's global footprint is unsustainable and it is unclear how or whether we will change this. ..synthetic biology is considered to be a major part of the solution The Cambridge BioDesign Symposium (25–27 September, 2012) brought together experts in diverse fields to debate synthetic biology's role in global sustainability. It aimed to share technical expertise (TechEvent), as well as to explore potential synthetic biology's applications and their consequences (Forum). While this report focuses mainly on the technological presentations of the TechEvent, it also provides a flavor of broader perspectives addressed at the Forum. New synthetic biology tools: our ability to successfully engineer biology relies heavily on the development of novel design, construction and measurement tools. Central to our construction efforts is the ability to synthesize and assemble bespoke DNA sequences. Ideally, DNA assembly should be fast, accurate, inexpensive, standardized, efficient across diverse assemblies, and amendable to both human and automated operation. Prof. Tom Knight's (MIT, Boston, USA and Ginkgo BioWorks) concept of “Biobricks” laid the foundation for the Registry of Standard Biological Parts – a collection of modular biological parts allowing easy mixing and matching to build synthetic biology devices. In his presentation, Prof. Knight examined different approaches to DNA assembly: overlap-type assemblies such as Gibson assembly are flexible, allowing bespoke part boundaries, but can be less reliable (e.g. where parts contain repetitive sequences) and are less automatable than restriction enzyme-based tools, such as BioBrick™ assembly (e.g. due to lower reliability and the requirement for large numbers of unique oligonucleotides). Restriction enzyme-based assembly remains Prof. Knight's preferred method for high-throughput, automated assembly. He outlined advantages of Ginkgo BioWorks' novel “RAD” assembly method, which is especially well-suited to automated assembly, though he found that its separation of physical and part boundaries makes direct human operation difficult. He reiterated the importance of making biology “work for us, as part of the assembly process”. The ultimate aims of genome engineering include determination of the fundamental features of life by designing minimal genomes, and writing custom genomes for specific applications. In many contexts however, the problem is what to build, rather than how to build it. Dr. Claes Gustafsson (DNA2.0, Palo Alto, USA)