Bioengineering primary metabolic byproducts as templates for adaptive technologies
Abstract
The proposed work will investigate the biochemical origins of functional materials co-opted fromprimary metabolic byproducts in living systems to inform the design of new, #living# adaptivetechnologies. Our approach is inspired by how adaptive color systems like cephalopods originatetheir color and reconfigurable patterns. Cephalopods employ fast-sensing systems that triggerstructural changesto impart changes in color and pattern through biochemical and optoelectroniccontrols. These changes occur using specialized optical organs embedded with pigments and proteinsthat receive and respond to signals (light, temperature, fragrances, sound, and textures) intheir environments, offering a unique strategy to survive in their environment and interact withtheir surroundings in remarkableways. The uppermost organ, the chromatophore, is present in red,yellow, and brown colors organized throughout the dermis and is responsible for the rapid (<1 sec)changes in color. Chromatophores contain pigmented granules of ommochromes like xanthommatin(Xa), which range from 150-1000 nm in diameter depending on color. Unlike many of thepigments currently produced in bacteria (canthaxanthin, carotenoids, astaxanthin, pyocyanin), ommochromeslike xanthommatin (Xa) are unique, as they are high-refractive index (n~1.66-1.92),electrochromic molecules with a proven application in biological and bio-inspired camouflage.Despite this information, the complete mechanism of Xa biosynthesis and how it contributes toadaptive changes in coloration in cephalopods is largely unknown. Understanding these fundamentalprocesses may provide insights into the formation of adaptive color broadly while elucidatingkey pathways needed for color and pattern formation.In this proposed collaborative work, our team aims to investigate the biochemical origins of adaptivecoloration in cephalopods, which we hypothesize originates from their primary metabolic byproducts.Our team is of the mindset that dynamic animals likecephalopods have co-opted thesebyproducts as active components that now participate in adaptive sensing and signaling. The goalof this proposal will be to test this hypothesis through two primary objectives:Objective 1: Conduct adaptive laboratory evolution and classical metabolic engineering studies tooptimize the bacterial production of Xa and other cephalopod pigments. This objective includesthe rational design of microbial production and optimization of the engineered production of Xa(mg to gram scales).Objective 2: Employ these reprogrammed microbes and their byproducts as #living# materials thatmay elucidate molecular origins of adaptive systems for materials. This objective includes evaluationof the bioengineered pigment in materials (compared against chemically synthesized benchmarks)and an exploration of the use of the biopigments and pigment-producing microbes as materialstowards biological circuits.Results are anticipated to include new, advanced biomanufacturing methods that multifunctionalbiomaterials with higher yields, throughput, and purity than the current state of the art achievableusing chemical synthesis # important design criteria for scalable, adaptive material systems designedto replicate cephalopod skin. Approved for Public Release.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 09, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412649
Entities
People
- Bradley S. Moore
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, San Diego