A novel biological containment system using synthetic auxotrophy for an unnatural amino acid

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25660281
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental agriculture(including landscape science)
• Research Institution: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
• Principal Investigator: Kato Yusuke 国立研究開発法人農業生物資源研究所, 昆虫機能研究開発ユニット, 上級研究員 (60214409)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 生物学的封じ込め / 遺伝子組換え生物 / 翻訳調節 / 非天然アミノ酸 / 合成生物学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We have developed a method to construct "an organism that cannot survive without an unnatural amino acid which has never been found in the natural environment", in order to prevent uncontrolled proliferation and colonization of "useful, but dangerous organisms" such as genetically modified organisms, pathogens and harmful invasive species. An E. coli strain that maintains this system can survive only in the presence of the unnatural amino acid in the laboratories and factories. Whereas, this strain dies in the natural environment because the unnatural amino acid does not exist there.

Free Research Field

合成生物学