Monday, July 30, 2007 - 1:30 PM
S45
Harnessing Constructive Biology in Metabolic Engineering Applications
Brian M. Baynes, Codon Devices, Inc., 1 Kendall Square, Bldg 300, Cambridge, MA 02139
Through new methods for high throughput DNA construction and error correction, it is now possible to construct high quality genetic material of any sequence and virtually any length at low cost. This enables information from large-scale sequencing studies, such as predicted ORFs, promoters, and regulatory motifs, to be leveraged together with computational design directly in a form that facilitates high throughput experimentation. Precise combinations of genes and regulatory elements exceeding 100kbp can be constructed in vitro, transformed, and tested for function. Elements of uncertainty in complex operons (promoter strength, enzyme function, secondary structure, cofactors, etc.), can be studied in specific combinations to deliver maximal information value per experiment and accelerate common metabolic engineering tasks such as flux optimization.