Cell-free systems for biochemistry and biomanufacturing

Abstract

Biomanufacturing can produce a wide array of protein and small molecule products in a suite of optimized production strains, but engineering cells to specifically make one target molecule requires significant time and optimization. To address this challenge, my research implements cell-free systems to reconstitute biosynthetic pathways in vitro for rapid biochemical production. Cell-free synthesis of proteins and other biochemicals uses the contents of cell lysates, exploiting biological machinery in the absence of growth or cellular regulation. The resulting cell extracts are extremely flexible systems with open reaction environments that enable greater control over variables than cell cultures for combinatorial screening. I implement cell-free systems both to inform the design of cellular production strains and to serve as standalone synthesis platforms with reduced waste generation. Here, I will discuss pathway prototyping to accelerate the design of non-model bacteria for carbon-negative chemical synthesis, highlight the ability for cell-free systems to achieve greater volumetric productivities than whole cells, and describe the ease with which diverse chemicals can be synthesized using crude cell extracts. I will also preview the new projects in my lab focused on biomanufacturing with light and CO2.

Join us on Monday, September 28 at 1:30 PM in Stephens Room (3503 Thomas Hall) and ZOOM for the Genetics and Genomics Seminar Series. This event will be held in person in Stephens Room (3503 Thomas Hall) and on Zoom.

Attend via Zoom:

Please contact host Anna Stepanova ([email protected]) with any question.