Synthetic Algae and Cyanobacteria: Great Potential but What Is the Exposure Risk?

摘要

Green algae and cyanobacteria (hereafter, algae) have the advantageous properties of relatively simple genomes, rapid growth rates, and an ability to synthesize useful compounds using solar energy and carbon dioxide. They are attractive targets for applications of synthetic biology, as entrepreneurs seek to transform them into unicellular autotrophic "factories" for industrial chemical production, which could augment or potentially disrupt traditional production pipelines. Although initial genetic modifications were focused on optimizing the harvest of ethanol and other biofuels, commercial ventures are diversifying and climbing the value chain into industrial chemicals, specialty chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Fueled by breakthroughs in molecular engineering, genomics, informatics and computer aided design, synthetic biology ventures have advanced rapidly and introductions of new products have the potential to present new challenges to regulators as they evaluate the associated environmental exposure risks. Ecologically, these exposure risks could be most profound for open water algal culture ventures that use new and untested containment controls that differ from those of closed systems. Ecological risk assessment for synthetic algae has some parallels with that of previous genetically modified organisms, but the open water nature of culturing algae presents new uncertainties that could greatly alter the risk calculus. In this talk, we will compare and contrast eco-evolutionary drivers of synthetic algae risk compared to previous genetically modified organisms and highlight key ecological exposure questions that must be evaluated for effective regulation.