Low escape-rate genome safeguards with minimal molecular perturbation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

As the use of synthetic biology grows, there is an increasing need to ensure biocontainment both to protect engineered proprietary strains and to mitigate potential inadvertent or advertent release to the environment. Here, we screen for the best-performing construct for essential gene-dependent transcriptional safeguards (SGs) in yeast. We have engineered strains that have near-WT fitness and a low escape rate, and grow in the presence of a nanomolar concentration of essential supplement. We also improved our “safeguard” construct by promoter engineering, as well as by analyzing a series of potential “decoy molecules” that could be used to mask the existence of critical chemical ligands required to grow the SG strain.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 07, 2017
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1621250114

Entities

People

  • Allen Zhang
  • Ben Sutter
  • Benjamin P. Tu
  • David Fenyö
  • Giovanni Stracquadanio
  • Haiping Hao
  • James A. Martin
  • Jef Boeke
  • Joel S. Bader
  • Katrina Caravelli
  • Kun Yang
  • Neta Agmon
  • Shigehito Ikushima
  • Woo Jin Choi
  • Xiaoji Sun
  • Yizhi Cai
  • Zuojian Tang

Organizations

  • Johns Hopkins University
  • New York University
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Essex
  • University of Texas at Austin

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Exercise and Sports Science.
  • Molecular Genetics

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology