A SynBio community comes of age: political, academical, industrial, and societal developments in the Netherlands

Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a rapidly growing scientific discipline. In the Netherlands, various universities and companies are tackling a variety of opportunities and challenges within this field. In this perspective article, we review the current synthetic biology landscape in the Netherlands across academia, industry, politics, and society. Especially within Dutch academia there is an active, though only partially connected, research community involved in various domains of SynBio. Mostly supported by governmental funding, academic research is focusing on top-down synthetic biology, involving the engineering of for example bacteria and yeast for bioproduction, as well as bottom-up and cell-free synthetic biology aiming to understand life and build synthetic cells. There is also a large number of talented and motivated students interested in the field, exemplified by the participation and success of Dutch teams in the international iGEM synthetic biology competition. Commercial synthetic biology activities are taking place in various large industrial companies, as well as in start-ups and spin-offs, mostly divided over several ‘SynBio hubs’ in the Netherlands. However, the investment, regulatory and public-perception landscape is not yet optimal to stimulate entrepreneurial activities in SynBio. The Dutch and global society can further benefit from the large promise of SynBio through better integration of people active in the Dutch SynBio field, frequent political and public dialogue, and more attention towards regulatory issues. The recently founded Dutch synthetic biology association SynBioNL aims to contribute to realizing a positive impact on society by stimulating advances of the field in the Netherlands and beyond.Microbial Biotechnolog

Synthetic Methanol and Formate Assimilation Via Modular Engineering and Selection Strategies

One-carbon (C1) feedstocks can provide a vital link between cheap and sustainable abiotic resources and microbial bioproduction. Soluble C1 substrates, methanol and formate, could prove more suitable than gaseous feedstocks as they avoid mass transfer barriers. However, microorganisms that naturally assimilate methanol and formate are limited by a narrow product spectrum and a restricted genetic toolbox. Engineering biotechnological organisms to assimilate these soluble C1 substrates has therefore become an attractive goal. Here, we discuss the use of a step-wise, modular engineering approach for the implementation of C1-pathways. In this strategy, pathways are divided into metabolic modules, the activities of which are selected for in dedicated gene-deletion strains whose growth directly depends on module activity. This provides an easy way to identify and resolve metabolic barriers hampering pathway performance. Optimization of gene expression levels and adaptive laboratory evolution can be used to establish the desired activity if direct selection fails. We exemplify this approach using several pathways, focusing especially on the ribulose monophosphate cycle for methanol assimilation and the reductive glycine pathway for formate assimilation. We argue that such modular engineering and selection strategies will prove essential for rewiring microbial metabolism towards new growth phenotypes and sustainable bioproduction

How developed is the South African coast? Baseline extent of South Africa’s coastal and estuarine infrastructure

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly being transformed from natural to artificial owing to increasing population growth, development pressures and impacts from climate change. With the threat from sea-level rise the increase in armouring of coastlines and other coastal defence structures is a particular concern. This study used Google Earth to define and map the extent of artificial structures along the coastline and within estuaries of South Africa. Infrastructure along the coastline was mostly concentrated around major cities with 85.71 km of armouring mapped along the entire coast and 51.74 km mapped within estuaries. Jetties were the dominant infrastructure type found within estuaries and armouring was the most dominant type along the coastline. Although large sections of the coast were found to be underdeveloped, hotspots around cities show that much of these areas are affected by infrastructure. In these areas in particular, haphazard and ad hoc development can have cumulative environmental impacts. As no extensive record of structures along the coastline of South Africa has been compiled, this study provides the first baseline inventory of the extent of infrastructure within the coastal environment of South Africa. This baseline can therefore be used to record and measure changes in infrastructure development of the coastal environment and guide future coastal development practises