COSPAR Sample Safety Assessment Framework (SSAF)

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Sample Safety Assessment Framework (SSAF) has been developed by a COSPAR appointed Working Group. The objective of the sample safety assessment would be to evaluate whether samples returned from Mars could be harmful for Earth's systems (e.g., environment, biosphere, geochemical cycles). During the Working Group's deliberations, it became clear that a comprehensive assessment to predict the effects of introducing life in new environments or ecologies is difficult and practically impossible, even for terrestrial life and certainly more so for unknown extraterrestrial life. To manage expectations, the scope of the SSAF was adjusted to evaluate only whether the presence of martian life can be excluded in samples returned from Mars. If the presence of martian life cannot be excluded, a Hold & Critical Review must be established to evaluate the risk management measures and decide on the next steps. The SSAF starts from a positive hypothesis (there is martian life in the samples), which is complementary to the null-hypothesis (there is no martian life in the samples) typically used for science. Testing the positive hypothesis includes four elements: (1) Bayesian statistics, (2) subsampling strategy, (3) test sequence, and (4) decision criteria. The test sequence capability covers self-replicating and non-self-replicating biology and biologically active molecules. Most of the investigations associated with the SSAF would need to be carried out within biological containment. The SSAF is described in sufficient detail to support planning activities for a Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) and for preparing science announcements, while at the same time acknowledging that further work is required before a detailed Sample Safety Assessment Protocol (SSAP) can be developed. The three major open issues to be addressed to optimize and implement the SSAF are (1) setting a value for the level of assurance to effectively exclude the presence of martian life in the samples, (2) carrying out an analogue test program, and (3) acquiring relevant contamination knowledge from all Mars Sample Return (MSR) flight and ground elements. Although the SSAF was developed specifically for assessing samples from Mars in the context of the currently planned NASA-ESA MSR Campaign, this framework and the basic safety approach are applicable to any other Mars sample return mission concept, with minor adjustments in the execution part related to the specific nature of the samples to be returned. The SSAF is also considered a sound basis for other COSPAR Planetary Protection Category V, restricted Earth return missions beyond Mars. It is anticipated that the SSAF will be subject to future review by the various MSR stakeholders.

Isolation and Characterization of Bacterial Cellulase Producers for Biomass Deconstruction: A Microbiology Laboratory Course

The conversion of biomass to biofuels presents a solution to one of the largest global challenges of our era, climate change. A critical part of this pipeline is the process of breaking down cellulosic sugars from plant matter to be used by microbes containing biosynthetic pathways that produce biofuels or bioproducts. In this inquiry-based course, students complete a research project that isolates cellulase-producing bacteria from samples collected from the environment. After obtaining isolates, the students characterize the production of cellulases. Students then amplify and sequence the 16S rRNA genes of confirmed cellulase producers and use bioinformatic methods to identify the bacterial isolates. Throughout the course, students learn about the process of generating biofuels and bioproducts through the deconstruction of cellulosic biomass to form monosaccharides from the biopolymers in plant matter. The program relies heavily on active learning and enables students to connect microbiology with issues of sustainability. In addition, it provides exposure to basic microbiology, molecular biology, and biotechnology laboratory techniques and concepts. The described activity was initially developed for the Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology (iCLEM) program, a research-based immersive laboratory course at the US Department of Energy Joint BioEnergy Institute. Originally designed as an accelerated program for high-potential, low-income, high school students (11th-12th grade), this curriculum could also be implemented for undergraduate coursework in a research-intensive laboratory course at a two- or four-year college or university.

Complete elucidation of the late steps of bafilomycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces lohii

Bafilomycins are an important subgroup of polyketides with diverse biological activities and possible applications as specific inhibitors of vacuolar H⁺-ATPase. However, the general toxicity and structural complexity of bafilomycins present formidable challenges to drug design via chemical modification, prompting interests in improving bafilomycin activities via biosynthetic approaches. Two bafilomycin biosynthetic gene clusters have been identified, but their post-polyketide synthase (PKS) tailoring steps for structural diversification and bioactivity improvement remain largely unknown. In this study, the post-PKS tailoring pathway from bafilomycin A₁ (1)→C₁ (2)→B₁ (3) in the marine microorganism Streptomyces lohii was elucidated for the first time by in vivo gene inactivation and in vitro biochemical characterization. We found that fumarate is first adenylated by a novel fumarate adenylyltransferase Orf3. Then, the fumaryl transferase Orf2 is responsible for transferring the fumarate moiety from fumaryl-AMP to the 21-hydroxyl group of 1 to generate 2. Last, the ATP-dependent amide synthetase BafY catalyzes the condensation of 2 and 2-amino-3-hydroxycyclopent-2-enone (C₅N) produced by the 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase BafZ and the acyl-CoA ligase BafX, giving rise to the final product 3. The elucidation of fumarate incorporation mechanism represents the first paradigm for biosynthesis of natural products containing the fumarate moiety. Moreover, the bafilomycin post-PKS tailoring pathway features an interesting cross-talk between primary and secondary metabolisms for natural product biosynthesis. Taken together, this work provides significant insights into bafilomycin biosynthesis to inform future pharmacological development of these compounds.

Engineering a Polyketide Synthase for In Vitro Production of Adipic Acid

Polyketides have enormous structural diversity, yet polyketide synthases (PKSs) have thus far been engineered to produce only drug candidates or derivatives thereof. Thousands of other molecules, including commodity and specialty chemicals, could be synthesized using PKSs if composing hybrid PKSs from well-characterized parts derived from natural PKSs was more efficient. Here, using modern mass spectrometry techniques as an essential part of the design-build-test cycle, we engineered a chimeric PKS to enable production one of the most widely used commodity chemicals, adipic acid. To accomplish this, we introduced heterologous reductive domains from various PKS clusters into the borrelidin PKS' first extension module, which we previously showed produces a 3-hydroxy-adipoyl intermediate when coincubated with the loading module and a succinyl-CoA starter unit. Acyl-ACP intermediate analysis revealed an unexpected bottleneck at the dehydration step, which was overcome by introduction of a carboxyacyl-processing dehydratase domain. Appending a thioesterase to the hybrid PKS enabled the production of free adipic acid. Using acyl-intermediate based techniques to "debug" PKSs as described here, it should one day be possible to engineer chimeric PKSs to produce a variety of existing commodity and specialty chemicals, as well as thousands of chemicals that are difficult to produce from petroleum feedstocks using traditional synthetic chemistry.

Cloning of casbene and neocembrene synthases from Euphorbiaceae plants and expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A large number of diterpenes have been isolated from Euphorbiaceae plants, many of which are of interest due to toxicity or potential therapeutic activity. Specific Euphorbiaceae diterpenes of medical interest include the latent HIV-1 activator prostratin (and related 12-deoxyphorbol esters), the analgesic resiniferatoxin, and the anticancer drug candidate ingenol 3-angelate. In spite of the large number of diterpenes isolated from these plants and the similarity of their core structures, there is little known about their biosynthetic pathways. Other than the enzymes involved in gibberellin biosynthesis, the only diterpene synthase isolated to date from the Euphorbiaceae has been casbene synthase, responsible for biosynthesis of a macrocyclic diterpene in the castor bean (Ricinus communis). Here, we have selected five Euphorbiaceae species in which to investigate terpene biosynthesis and report on the distribution of diterpene synthases within this family. We have discovered genes encoding putative casbene synthases in all of our selected Euphorbiaceae species and have demonstrated high-level casbene production through expression of four of these genes in a metabolically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The only other diterpene synthase found among the five plants was a neocembrene synthase from R. communis (this being the first report of a neocembrene synthase gene). Based on the prevalence of casbene synthases, the lack of other candidates, and the structure of the casbene skeleton, we consider it likely that casbene is the precursor to a large number of Euphorbiaceae diterpenes. Casbene production levels of 31 mg/L were achieved in S. cerevisiae and we discuss strategies to further increase production by maximizing flux through the mevalonate pathway.

Utilizing the Power of Microbial Genetics to Bridge the Gap Between the Promise and the Application of Marine Natural Products

Marine organisms are a rich source of secondary metabolites. They have yielded thousands of compounds with a broad range of biomedical applications. Thus far, samples required for preclinical and clinical studies have been obtained by collection from the wild, by mariculture, and by total chemical synthesis. However, for a number of complex marine metabolites, none of these options is feasible for either economic or environmental reasons. In order to proceed with the development of many of these promising therapeutic compounds, a reliable and renewable source must be found. Over the last twenty years, the study of microbial secondary metabolites has greatly advanced our understanding of how nature utilizes simple starting materials to yield complex small molecules. Much of this work has focused on polyketides and nonribosomal peptides, two classes of molecules that are prevalent in marine micro- and macroorganisms. The lessons learned from the study of terrestrial metabolite biosynthesis are now being applied to the marine world. As techniques for cloning and heterologous expression of biosynthetic pathways continue to improve, they may provide our greatest hope for bridging the gap between the promise and application of many marine natural products.