Engineering Fellowships for Growth: Development of SimCells as building blocks for synthetic biology

增长工程奖学金：开发 SimCell 作为合成生物学的构建模块

• 批准号: EP/M002403/1
• 负责人: Wei Huang
• 金额: $ 107.44万
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2014 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FM002403%2F1
• 关键词: Engineering; Fellowships; Growth; Development; SimCells

The vision of this Fellowship is to establish an unprecedented new bioengineering platform for synthetic biology - the SimCell (Simple and Simulated Cell) that performs advanced bioengineering functions in an easy-to-use, safe-to-handle, and reliable-to-build manner. The aim of this fellowship is to develop SimCells as programmable 'bio-robots' and establish the foundation for standardised engineering applications of SimCells. SimCells have the potential to open up a new frontier, enabling the development of new and smart materials for bioprocessing and manufacturing, bioenergy, healthcare, agriculture and environmental monitoring and protection. Unlike a living cell, a SimCell is a chromosome-free and simplified cellular bio-robot; its 'hardware' is the optimised 'shell' of a cell which enables specific cellular properties; and its 'software' is a piece of DNA which delivers the defined functions. The optimised shell and simple DNA in SimCells enables them faithfully delivering most of their energy and resources to a specific function without interference of unwanted pathways and networks in a natural cell. A SimCell is a non-dividing, biochemically active, designable and simplified agent, which can be continuously produced by engineered parent cells, but which cannot reproduce itself, making it more acceptable to public opinion than living genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Fellowship is truly revolutionary, transforming current synthetic biology based on living cells or cell-free system by providing an intermediate building block between them and taking advantages of both. It directly addresses three of five great challenges of synthetic biology by establishing novel SimCells as predictable, simple, safe and programmable bio-robots. The application of SimCells would lead to address one of challenges in 'the third industrial revolution' - bioenergy. To demonstrate SimCells as miniature factories with high energy transfer efficiency, a bio-transformation system will be designed to produce biofuels (such as ethanol and alkanes) from H2O and CO2, mediated by SimCells and powered by electrons and sunlight. This will be built on the established synthetic pathways developed by WH's previous research and patents. The outcomes of this Fellowship will set a bioenergy benchmark to which other long-term projects will aspire, and will also create the infrastructure for a wide range of applications.

该奖学金的愿景是为合成生物学建立一个前所未有的新生物工程平台-SimCell(简单模拟细胞)，以易于使用、操作安全和构建可靠的方式执行高级生物工程功能。该奖学金的目的是将SimCells开发为可编程的“生物机器人”，并为SimCells的标准化工程应用奠定基础。SimCells有潜力开辟一个新的前沿，使生物加工和制造、生物能源、医疗保健、农业以及环境监测和保护等新型智能材料的开发成为可能。与活细胞不同，SimCell是一个没有染色体的简化细胞生物机器人；它的“硬件”是细胞的优化“壳”，使特定的细胞属性；它的“软件”是一段DNA，提供定义的功能。SimCells中优化的外壳和简单的DNA使它们能够忠实地将大部分能量和资源传递给特定的功能，而不会干扰自然细胞中不需要的路径和网络。SimCell是一种不分裂、具有生物化学活性、可设计和简化的试剂，它可以由工程亲本细胞连续生产，但不能自我繁殖，使其比活的转基因生物(GMO)更容易为公众所接受。该联谊会是真正的革命性的，通过在活细胞和无细胞系统之间提供中间构件并利用两者的优势，改变了当前基于活细胞或无细胞系统的合成生物学。它通过建立可预测、简单、安全和可编程的生物机器人来直接应对合成生物学五大挑战中的三个。SimCells的应用将导致解决“第三次工业革命”中的挑战之一--生物能源。为了展示SimCells作为具有高能量转移效率的微型工厂，将设计一个生物转化系统，由SimCells介导，由电子和阳光驱动，从H2O和二氧化碳中生产生物燃料(如乙醇和烷烃)。这将建立在万洲国际之前的研究和专利开发的已建立的合成途径之上。该奖学金的成果将为其他长期项目树立一个生物能源基准，并将为广泛的应用创造基础设施。

项目成果

Rational Design and Characterization of Nitric Oxide Biosensors in E. coli Nissle 1917 and Mini SimCells.

大肠杆菌 Nissle 1917 和 Mini SimCells 中一氧化氮生物传感器的合理设计和表征。

• DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00223
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: ACS synthetic biology
• 影响因子: 4.7
• 作者: Chen XJ

Application of a bacterial whole cell biosensor for the rapid detection of cytotoxicity in heavy metal contaminated seawater

细菌全细胞生物传感器在重金属污染海水细胞毒性快速检测中的应用

• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.02.097
• 发表时间: 2018-06-01
• 期刊: CHEMOSPHERE
• 影响因子: 8.8
• 作者: Cui, Zhisong;Luan, Xiao;Huang, Wei E.
• 通讯作者: Huang, Wei E.

Redesign of ultrasensitive and robust RecA gene circuit to sense DNA damage.

• DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13767
• 发表时间: 2021-11
• 期刊: Microbial biotechnology
• 影响因子: 5.7
• 作者: Chen JX;Lim B;Steel H;Song Y;Ji M;Huang WE
• 通讯作者: Huang WE

Characterisation and development of aspirin inducible biosensors in E. coli Nissle 1917 and SimCells

大肠杆菌 Nissle 1917 和 SimCells 中阿司匹林诱导生物传感器的表征和开发

• DOI: 10.1101/414169
• 发表时间: 2018
• 作者: Chen J