2 research outputs found
Open Sequence Initiative: a part submission standard to complement modern DNA assembly techniques
The discipline of synthetic biology emphasizes the application of engineering principles such as standardization, abstraction, modularity, and rational design to complex biological systems. The archetypical example of such standardization is BioBrick RFC[10], introduced in 2003 by Tom Knight at MIT. BioBricks are stored on a standard plasmid, pSB1C3, which contains prefix and suffix sequences flanking the DNA sequence specifying a biological part. The prefix and suffix sequences contain two pairs of 6 base-pair (bp) restriction enzyme sites (EcoRI+XbaI and SpeI+PstI), which can be used for both part assembly and quality control. BioBricks are intended to be well- characterized biological parts, such as genes or promoters, that function in a predictable fashion and can be readily combined to make complex systems. The rules of the RFC[10] BioBrick assembly method require that none of the restriction sites used in the prefix and suffix be present in the parts themselves. This requirement can be an onerous imposition for iGEM teams developing large, novel parts, such as genes or entire operons that are obtained by amplifying DNA sequences from environmental samples or microorganisms.
While iGEM teams may use methods such as site-directed mutagenesis to remove illegal restriction sites from a part's sequence, it is certainly possible that this mutation will alter the functionality of the part – a very undesirable outcome. In addition, the mutagenesis of illegal restriction sites is an unnecessary burden on teams, given the limited time and resources available to teams during each year’s iGEM competition. Efforts spent mutagenizing sites would be better spent characterizing and improving parts. This RFC proposes an alternative submission standard to eliminate these problems
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Evaluating climate change mitigation efforts in California and how to secure significant and equitable co-benefits
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C, or even 2°C, will require a sharp reduction in fossil fuel use over the next decade. A rich body of research quantifies the human health benefits from the improved air quality that will result in reducing fossil fuel combustion and makes the case for rapid, aggressive pathways to net-zero emissions. California has been a global leader in environmental protection and climate change mitigation, implementing a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions in 2013. Given the disproportionate burden of air pollution exposure that many minority and low-income communities already experience, environmental justice advocates fear that a market-driven system like cap-and-trade could increase pollution disparities. Multiple studies have established that higher rates of Black and Hispanic or Disadvantaged Communities live near cap-and-trade-regulated facilities (Boyce et al. 2013, Anderson et al. 2018, Cushing et al. 2018). Using an environmental justice exposure tool developed by Chambliss et al, intake fractions are linked to cap-and-trade facility information from the database created by Cushing et al. These intake fractions for total population and Disadvantaged Communities show how communities are exposed to air pollution from these facilities, which sectors are disproportionately responsible, and the impact on Disadvantaged Communities. These studies do not show whether or not pollution has been concentrated in environmental justice communities, but they do show how it could happen. Considering the difficulty California regulators have had in implementing suggestions from its Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and the role of the industry responsible for the majority of PM₂.₅ exposure and large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions from cap-and-trade facilities, oil and gas, in legislating climate change mitigation in California, researchers and activists should keep carefully studying this program.Environmental and Water Resources Engineerin