Harnessing iron‑sulfur enzymes for synthetic biology

Reactions catalysed by iron-sulfur (Fe-S) enzymes appear in a variety of biosynthetic pathways that produce valuable natural products. Harnessing these biosynthetic pathways by expression in microbial cell factories grown on an industrial scale would yield enormous economic and environmental benefits. However, Fe-S enzymes often become...

Living Bits and Radical Aminos: A Workshop on Bio-Digital Interfaces for Human-Computer Interaction

As knowledge around bio-digital interaction continues to unfold, there are new opportunities for HCI researchers to integrate biology as a design and computational material. Our motivation for the workshop is to bring together interdisciplinary researchers with interest in exploring the next generation of biological HCI and exploring novel...

About Dinosaurs in Laboratories - Evaluation of the Serious Game Cards for Biosafety

Cards for Biosafety is a serious game, which was developed as part of a national research project. The aim of this game is to let young biotechnology researchers learn about risks and mitigation measures in different biotechnology environments. To evaluate the game and its learning objective, an online questionnaire was developed and distributed...

“Risk Management Can Actually Be Fun”: Using the Serious Cards for Biosafety Game to Stimulate Proper Discussions About Biosafety

As part of a Dutch Science Foundation project called T-TRIPP, the authors developed the serious game Cards for Biosafety. The aim of Cards for Biosafety is to let young biotechnology researchers learn more about biosafety. Analyses of workshops with researchers from the biotechnology domain as well as results of interviews with several biosafety...

Differences in barriers for controlled learning about safety between biotechnology and chemistry

The increasing societal demand for safer, biobased products, and processes<br/>creates opportunities for industrial biotechnology and chemistry. To succeed,<br/>controlled learning about new emerging risks is crucial but both fields endure<br/>difficulty in doing so by their respective regulation and risk management culture.

Value Conflicts in Designing for Safety: Distinguishing Applications of Safe-by-Design and the Inherent Safety Principles

Although both the Inherent Safety Principles (ISPs) and the Safe-by-Design (SbD) approach revolve around the central value of safety, they have a slightly different focus in terms of developing add-on features or considering initial design choices. This paper examines the differences between these approaches and analyses which approach is more...

Endocytosis of nutrient transporters in fungi: The ART of connecting signaling and trafficking

Plasma membrane transporters play pivotal roles in the import of nutrients, including sugars, amino acids, nucleobases, carboxylic acids, and metal ions, that surround fungal cells. The selective removal of these transporters by endocytosis is one of the most important regulatory mechanisms that ensures a rapid adaptation of cells to the...

Identification of Oxygen-Independent Pathways for Pyridine Nucleotide and Coenzyme A Synthesis in Anaerobic Fungi by Expression of Candidate Genes in Yeast

Neocallimastigomycetes are unique examples of strictly anaerobic eukaryotes. This study investigates how these anaerobic fungi bypass reactions involved in synthesis of pyridine nucleotide cofactors and coenzyme A that, in canonical fungal pathways, require molecular oxygen. Analysis of Neocallimastigomycetes proteomes identified a candidate...

Safe-by-Design: Stakeholders' Perceptions and Expectations of How to Deal with Uncertain Risks of Emerging Biotechnologies in the Netherlands

Advanced gene editing techniques such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR)/Cas have increased the pace of developments in the field of industrial biotechnology. Such techniques imply new possibilities when working with living organisms, possibly leading to uncertain risks. In the Netherlands, current policy fails...

Applying Non-canonical Redox Cofactors in Fermentation Processes

Fermentation processes are used to sustainably produce chemicals and as such contribute to the transition to a circular economy. The maximum theoretical yield of a conversion can only be approached if all electrons present in the substrate end up in the product. Control over the electrons is therefore crucial. However, electron transfer via...

Genome analysis and engineering of industrial lager brewing yeasts

Lager beer, also referred to as Pilsner, is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world, with an annual consumption of almost 200 billion litres per year. To make lager beer, brewer’s wort is fermented with the yeast <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"...

Novel genetic parts and cultivation strategies for yeast-based conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks

The recent start-up of several full-scale ‘second generation’ ethanol plants marks a major milestone in the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains for fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates of agricultural residues and energy crops. In contrast to the fermentation of hexose sugar-rich substrates, such as corn syrup or sugar...

Algorithms for sequence-based reverse metabolic engineering

Microorganisms are employed on a large scale in a variety of industrial production processes, such as production of food and ingredients, beverages, pharmaceutical compo- nents and fine- and bulk chemicals. Improving the behaviour of these microorganisms is of crucial importance in the design of efficient production processes. In this thesis we...