Manipulation of tRNA to Enhance Biologic Production

Biologic production is a multibillion dollar industry, providing substantial healthcare benefits and unlimited opportunity for expansion. Funded by a BBSRC Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst Early Stage Translation Award, my lab developed a novel synthetic biology strategy that boosts product quality and yield in proof-of-principle experiments. Follow-on funding is sought to support conclusive tests of our strategy using proprietary platforms and biologics under conditions of industrial production, in collaborations with multinational companies.

Our strategy is based on measuring and manipulating tRNAs required for biologic synthesis. Some tRNAs are much more abundant than others and scarcity of a single tRNA can restrict production. However, relative levels of tRNAs have not been measured in industrial contexts. We propose to fill this key knowledge gap and remediate deficiencies by tRNA supplementation and improved codon optimization.