Sandpit: Engineering genetically augmented polymers (GAPS)

Nature constructs beautiful and complex living entities using a surprisingly small array of different building blocks. Whilst we know what the essential building blocks are, we have yet to understand the intricacy of how they are brought together and assembled in Nature. There is tremendous potential to tap into this knowledge. Not only will it enable us to mimic natural processes - such as solar energy conversion and hydrogen production - but we can also begin to take inspiration from Biology to design and construct new materials and devices with specific functions. This will transform areas from electronics to medicine to climate change. We propose to tap into Nature's coding information; the genetic information stored in an organism's DNA. The information is stored very precisely in DNA and is transferred and used very efficiently during growth and development to give healthy organisms with certain characteristics and abilities. We want to use this genetic information to programme the interaction of natural and chemical systems. This will give a great deal of control during the engineering of new materials and devices, as we can precisely combine the components. This type of precision and programming has been lacking from such endeavours thus far. Plastics provide a good example of this. Whilst we are very good at making plastics, we are not so good at making smart plastics, in which for example we can dial in bio-degradability. Our intention is to take the building blocks of plastics together with protein molecules, which are key functional components of natural systems. To each of these we will add short pieces of genetic information so that a plastic can specifically recognise and stick to another plastic, or protein. We will use segments of DNA that are perfect for this task. DNA in a gene is double stranded; one strand contains the genetic code and the second strand contains the anti-code and sticks very tightly and exactly to the first coding strand. We propose to attach a short section of coding strand to a plastic and the corresponding strand of anti-code to a protein, thus programming the plastic and protein to stick together. The variations possible in the coding strand mean we can encode many different plastics and proteins to talk to each other.This work will give us an entirely new way to design and build materials. We will be able to instruct specific biological modules to interact and cooperate in precise ways with materials like plastics. This will be very different from how our everyday technologies are currently built as we lack this programming ability. It will provide components and construction methods for the engineering and manufacture of drugs, materials and devices.

This project will impact the public, third party and commercial sectors. A strong science base of basic and applied scientific research is a main contributor to the international competitiveness and economy of both the UK and US. This project will deliver new technologies in an important emerging area of science; synthetic biology. Major outputs will be foundational tools and methods to transform biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries, together with interdisciplinary training for early-career researchers. Moreover, the work is of public interest and will enable us to engage and inform the public and policy makers at an early stage over potential social concerns of synthetic biology. Equally this work can contribute to ethical debates surrounding synthetic biology. The work proposed is closely aligned with current policies of the UK Research Councils and the NSF, including synthetic biology, advancing international collaborations and the sandpit strategy. This innovative research project from a trans-Atlantic team will benefit policy-makers, funding bodies and academic institutions by highlighting the value of interdisciplinary, international research. The project will enable all investigators to promote interdisciplinary endeavours and to influence the direction of synthetic biology, not only through the research, but also through their various roles within their Universities, national bodies and learned societies. This work also impacts on third sector organisations that have interests in synthetic biology. We will promote all interests by publishing outputs in journals and presenting them at conferences. We will incorporate synthetic biology into our existing, extensive public engagement activities and also make our work in this area available via a wiki. We will also enter into dialogues on the relevant social concerns and ethical issues through discussions with experts in this area. There is potential for future impact on the commercial sector. New technologies in synthetic biology can help provide solutions to some of the world's most significant challenges, such as inexpensive drug therapies and renewable energy. We will capitalise on our existing industrial contacts in this regard. Implementation of our impact plan will be undertaken by all applicants and our regular managements meetings will address economic and social impact.