Team:DTU-Denmark/Overview/Background

Synthetic biology is the approach for creating innovative bio-molecular systems in a fast, reliable and systematic way. The overall aim is to enable the combination of known, well-characterised elements into novel constructs. The field is growing and has many applications as illustrated by the many tracks of the iGEM competition, currently counting 15 tracks in total. Being able to develop creative biological systems with new functions requires a large toolbox consisting of standardised methods and characterised parts. Implementing synthetic biology products in the real world requires both scientific and public acceptance of the constructs themselves as well as the methods used to create them.

At the 2014 DTU iGEM team we have worked dedicatedly on developing an easy, precise and reliable method for absolute measurement of the activity of one of the most essential bio-molecular parts: the genetic promoter. The most important piece of information when characterising promoters is their ability to initiate transcription under various conditions. To characterise a promoter, it is therefore necessary to assess its activity, i.e. the rate at which transcripts are produced. The preferred indicator of activity has so far been based on relative measurements of reporter proteins transcribed from different promoters, natural as well as synthetic. This method requires that an arbitrarily chosen promoter is used as reference, and as long as the relative activities remain the same it is impossible to determine whether a generally low or high level of transcription is observed. Using absolute measurements of promoter activity, it would be possible to detect these variations, and it would allow indepently performed measurements, e.g. from different labs, to be compared much more easily.

In order to perform absolute measurements, a suitable unit of activity is required. Polymerases per Second (PoPS) is a measure of the number of RNA polymerases that pass a specific point on DNA per second. We have worked towards developing a method to measure promoter activity in PoPS. Achieving this goal will enable researchers to better characterise promoters, by measuring the activity in different strains and at different growth conditions.

Advancing Synthetic Biology

The importance of developing new measurement methods has been acknowledged by iGEM with the addition of the Measurement Track this year. We seek to advance synthetic biology by developing a solution by which absolute promoter activities can be reliably measured and it is our vision that this method can be standardised and added to the growing toolbox of synthetic biology. This will enable more effective and precise design of new bio-molecular systems resulting in more reliable and controllable constructs.

Implementation of biological constructs developed by synthetic biology in a public context is in most countries subject to both national and international regulations. Concerns about possible severe consequences for the environment or human health as well as about the ethics of the field have given rise to public discussion for years. We acknowledge that the ethical issues regarding synthetic biology is important to consider. Therefore we have made a thorough analysis of some of the ethical aspects of synthetic biology based on our project. The analysis discusses several important issues to bear in mind and consider when deciding whether a project should be realised. Arguments have been evaluated using the ethical theory of utilitarianism to enable quantification of the arguments.

However, being able to participate in the discussion about the implementation of the constructed systems requires information about the possibilities and power of synthetic biology. We have dedicated a large part of our time to informing Danish high school students about synthetic biology, so that these students hopefully will be able to participate in discussions about synthetic biology in a qualified manner.