Synthetic microbiology in sustainability applications

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Synthetic Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Microorganisms possess metabolic diversity for environmental adaptation and chemical interactions.
• Synthetic biology offers tools to engineer microbial capabilities for specific applications.
• Societal sustainability challenges require innovative biological solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a high-level overview of synthetic biology applications for sustainability.
• To identify foundational microbiological research questions accelerating these applications.
• To propose a framework categorizing microbial engineering efforts.

Main Methods:

• Review of current research in synthetic biology for sustainability.
• Development of a framework categorizing applications into 'factory', 'farm', and 'field' domains.
• Analysis of shared challenges and collaboration opportunities across domains.

Main Results:

• Categorization of synthetic biology efforts into three domains based on environmental interaction.
• Identification of common challenges within application domains.
• Emphasis on the need for foundational microbiological research.

Conclusions:

• Synthetic biology holds significant potential for addressing sustainability challenges.
• A domain-based framework aids in understanding and addressing application-specific research needs.
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration is crucial for advancing microbial engineering for sustainability.