Making the most of synthetic biology. Strategies for synthetic biology development in Europe

Multienzymatic Cascades and Nanomaterial Scaffolding-A Potential Way Forward for the Efficient Biosynthesis of Novel Chemical Products

Synthetic biology is touted as the next industrial revolution as it promises access to greener biocatalytic syntheses to replace many industrial organic chemistries. Here, it is shown to what synthetic biology can offer in the form of multienzyme cascades for the synthesis of the most basic of new materials-chemicals, including especially designer chemical products and their analogs. Since achieving this is predicated on dramatically expanding the chemical space that enzymes access, such chemistry will probably be undertaken in cell-free or minimalist formats to overcome the inherent toxicity of non-natural substrates to living cells. Laying out relevant aspects that need to be considered in the design of multi-enzymatic cascades for these purposes is begun. Representative multienzymatic cascades are critically reviewed, which have been specifically developed for the synthesis of compounds that have either been made only by traditional organic synthesis along with those cascades utilized for novel compound syntheses. Lastly, an overview of strategies that look toward exploiting bio/nanomaterials for accessing channeling and other nanoscale materials phenomena in vitro to direct novel enzymatic biosynthesis and improve catalytic efficiency is provided. Finally, a perspective on what is needed for this field to develop in the short and long term is presented.

Synthetic biology in the view of European public funding organisations

We analysed the decisions of major European public funding organisations to fund or not to fund synthetic biology (SB) and related ethical, legal and social implication (ELSI) studies. We investigated the reaction of public organisations in six countries (Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.K.) towards SB that may influence SB's further development in Europe. We examined R&D and ELSI communities and their particular funding situation. Our results show that the funding situation for SB varies considerably among the analysed countries, with the U.K. as the only country with an established funding scheme for R&D and ELSI that successfully integrates these research communities. Elsewhere, we determined a general lack of funding (France), difficulties in funding ELSI work (Switzerland), lack of an R&D community (Austria), too small ELSI communities (France, Switzerland, Netherlands), or difficulties in linking existing communities with available funding sources (Germany), partly due to an unclear SB definition.

Standardization in synthetic biology

Synthetic Biology is founded on the idea that complex biological systems are built most effectively when the task is divided in abstracted layers and all required components are readily available and well-described. This requires interdisciplinary collaboration at several levels and a common understanding of the functioning of each component. Standardization of the physical composition and the description of each part is required as well as a controlled vocabulary to aid design and ensure interoperability. Here, we describe standardization initiatives from several disciplines, which can contribute to Synthetic Biology. We provide examples of the concerted standardization efforts of the BioBricks Foundation comprising the request for comments (RFC) and the Registry of Standardized Biological parts as well as the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition.

Shaping the science-industry-policy interface in synthetic biology

Current advances in the emerging field of synthetic biology and the improvements in key technologies promise great impacts, not only on future scientific development, but also on the economy. In this paper we will adopt the triple helix concept for analyzing the early stages of a new field of science and innovation, namely synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is based on the creation and assembly of parts in order to create new and more complex structures and functions. These features of synthetic biology raise questions related to standardization and intellectual property, but also to security and public perception issues that go beyond the classical biotechnology discussions. These issues concern all involved actors in the synthetic biology field and affect the interrelationship between science, industry and policy. Based on the results of the recently finished EU FP-6 funded project TESSY (http://www.tessy-europe.de), the article analyzes these issues. Additionally, it illustrates the setting of clear framework conditions for synthetic biology research and development and the identification and definition of common goals for the future development of the field which will be needed for efficient science–industry–policy interaction. It was shown that it will be crucial to develop approaches that consider the needs of science and industry, on the one hand, and comply with the expectations of society, on the other hand. As synthetic biology is a global activity, the involvement of national decision-makers in international initiatives will further stimulate the development of the field.