Mesoplasma florum comme modèle pour la biologie intégrative et l'ingéiere cellulaire

最近在DNA分子的测序和合成方面取得了显著的进展。预计在不久的将来，小的微生物基因组的设计，构建和评估将相对容易。为特定应用设计微生物细胞可能会产生非常深远的科学和经济影响，并为公众带来许多好处。为了充分发挥其潜力，该过程将需要深入了解细菌细胞电路，以及使用标准化DNA调控基序进行染色体操作和细胞编程的强大技术。还非常需要用于降低向其他生物体和从其他生物体意外转移基因的风险的安全特征。我们建议开发一种安全，简单，易于理解的自由生活细胞作为细胞工程工作的平台系统。我们将把我们的努力集中在花中原体，最简单的快速生长，非致病性，自由生活的生物体之一，以减少生物的复杂性到最低限度。我们打算进一步简化这些生物体，以便只保留实验室条件下所需或期望的功能。这些实验将有助于确定最小基因组的组成，开发合适的技术来克隆和修饰整个M。florum基因组，并提供标准化的部分以及调控基序组装规则，用于编程工程细胞。虽然拟议中的研究的主要目标是提高基础知识，工程M。florum细胞可以构成一个安全、简单和强大的平台，用于合成生物学在医学、环境补救、纳米制造、病原体和有害物质遥感以及能源生产方面的应用。

Remarkable progress has recently been made in sequencing and synthesizing DNA molecules. Small microbial genomes are expected to be designed, constructed, and evaluated relatively easily in the very near future. Designing microbial cells for specific applications could have a very profound scientific and economic impact, as well as numerous benefits for the public. To achieve its full potential, the process will require an in-depth understanding of bacterial cell circuitry, as well as robust techniques for chromosome manipulation and cell programming using standardized DNA regulatory motifs. Safety features to reduce the risks of accidental gene transfer to, and from other organisms are also highly desirable. We propose to develop a safe, simple, well-understood free-living cell as a platform system for cell engineering efforts. We will focus our efforts on Mesoplasma florum, one of the simplest fast-growing, non-pathogenic, free-living organisms in order to reduce biological complexity to a minimum. We intend to further simplify these organisms in order to only keep functions required or desirable under laboratory conditions. The proposed experiments will help define the composition of a minimal genome, develop appropriate techniques to clone and modify entire M. florum genomes, and provide standardized parts as well as regulatory motifs assembly rules for programming engineered cells. While the main goal of the proposed studies is to advance basic knowledge, engineered M. florum cells could constitute a safe, simple and powerful platform for synthetic biology applications in medicine, environmental remediation, nano-fabrication, pathogen and hazardous material remote sensing, and energy production.