Conference: 2023 Chloroplast Biotechnology GRC & GRS: Harnessing the SynBio Revolution for Metabolic Engineering and Enhanced Photosynthesis

美国国家科学基金会的这项奖励将为赴美的研究生、博士后或非终身教职人员提供资金支持，以参加将于2023年3月在美国加利福尼亚州文图拉举行的戈登塑料生物技术研究会议。质体是藻类和植物中必不可少的细胞器，它们进行光合作用，从捕获的阳光和二氧化碳中产生糖和淀粉。质体也产生各种各样的分子，这些分子对我们的食物和健康至关重要，包括几种（原）维生素、氨基酸、抗氧化剂、脂肪酸和脂质。本次会议将讨论正在进行的研究，以改善植物和藻类的质体，从而提高它们生产的产品对我们的社会有益。这些包括疫苗、新型药品、营养补充剂以及生物燃料。初级和高级研究人员将讨论和互动，以产生新的想法，并开始新的合作，以加速科学发现。该NSF奖将支持将于2023年3月在美国加州文图拉举行的戈登塑料生物技术研究会议。会议将展示工程质体的新研究，以改进现有功能（如光合作用）或为它们提供新的功能。这项研究的最新进展，特别是通过从藻类和蓝藻转移分子溶液，已经令人印象深刻。与此同时，在叶绿体中植入新功能以利用其代谢和蛋白质合成能力也处于一个令人兴奋的时刻。质体的遗传转化现在在许多植物和藻类中是常规的，因此重点转向基于复杂控制电路下多个基因表达的合成生物学解决方案。事实上，相对较小且被充分理解的质体基因组现在是一些国家雄心勃勃的项目的主要目标，这些项目旨在设计和合成具有增强特性的新型基因组。支持这些进步的基础科学（例如，基因组结构和复制，基因表达控制，蛋白质平衡，质体代谢，代谢物运输）将涵盖与这些生物技术应用相关的地方。讨论的技术将涵盖从质体代谢的细微调整到质体基因组的完全重新设计的整个范围，并将包括在农业、工业生物技术或制药部门应用所需的修饰细胞器基因组、蛋白质组或代谢组的所有方面。涵盖的目标产品包括，例如，生物制药（疫苗和治疗性蛋白质）、工业酶、绿色化学品和下一代生物燃料。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This NSF award will provide financial support to US-based graduate students, postdocs or non-tenured faculty to attend the Gordon Research Conference on Plastid Biotechnology to be held in March 2023, in Ventura, CA, USA. Plastids are essential organelles in algae and plants, and they carry out photosynthesis to produce sugars and starch from captured sunlight and CO2. Plastids also produce a diverse array of molecules that are essential in our food and for our health, including several (pro)vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, fatty acids and lipids This conference will serve to discuss ongoing research to improve plastids in plants and algae to enhance their production of products that are beneficial for our society. These include vaccines, novel pharmaceutical products, nutritional supplements, as well as biofuels. Junior and senior researchers will discuss and interact to generate new ideas and start novel collaborations to accelerate scientific discoveries.This NSF award will support the Gordon Research Conference on Plastid Biotechnology to be held in March 2023, in Ventura, CA, USA. The conference will present novel research in engineering plastids to either improve existing functions (e.g., photosynthesis) or provide them with new one. Recent progress in this research, particularly through the transfer of molecular solutions from algae and cyanobacteria, has been impressive. In parallel, the engineering of novel functions into chloroplasts to make use of their metabolic and protein synthesis capabilities is also at an exciting juncture. The genetic transformation of plastids is now routine in many plants and algae, so the focus is moving to synthetic biology solutions based on expression of multiple genes under sophisticated control circuits. Indeed, the relatively small and well-understood plastid genome is now a prime target for ambitious projects in several countries aimed at design and synthesis of novel genomes with enhanced traits. The basic science underpinning these advances (e.g., genome structure and replication, control of gene expression, proteostasis, plastid metabolism, metabolite transport) will be covered where relevant to these biotechnological applications. The technologies discussed will cover the entire range from subtle tweaks in plastid metabolism to complete redesign of the plastid genome, and will include all aspects of modifying organellar genomes, proteomes or metabolomes needed for applications in agriculture, industrial biotechnology or the pharmaceutical sector. Target products to be covered include, for example, biopharmaceuticals (vaccines and therapeutic proteins), industrial enzymes, green chemicals and next-generation biofuels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.