Torres, L. and Kruger, A. and Csibra, E. and Gianni, E. and Pinheiro, Vitor B. (2016) Synthetic biology approaches to biological containment: pre-emptively tackling potential risks. Essays in Biochemistry 60 (4), pp. 393-410. ISSN 1744-1358.
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Abstract
Biocontainment comprises any strategy applied to ensure that harmful organisms are confined to controlled laboratory conditions and not allowed to escape into the environment. Genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs), regardless of the nature of the modification and how it was established, have potential human or ecological impact if accidentally leaked or voluntarily released into a natural setting. Although all evidence to date is that GEMs are unable to compete in the environment, the power of synthetic biology to rewrite life requires a pre-emptive strategy to tackle possible unknown risks. Physical containment barriers have proven effective but a number of strategies have been developed to further strengthen biocontainment. Research on complex genetic circuits, lethal genes, alternative nucleic acids, genome recoding and synthetic auxotrophies aim to design more effective routes towards biocontainment. Here, we describe recent advances in synthetic biology that contribute to the ongoing efforts to develop new and improved genetic, semantic, metabolic and mechanistic plans for the containment of GEMs.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Structural Molecular Biology, Institute of (ISMB) |
| Depositing User: | Vitor Bernardes pinheiro |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Dec 2016 11:07 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:29 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/17560 |
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