A biofoundry is a highly automated facility for processing of biological samples. In that capacity it has a major role in accelerating innovation and product development in engineering biology by implementing design, build, test and learn (DBTL) cycles. Biofoundries bring public and private stakeholders together to share resources, develop standards and forge collaborations on national and international levels. In this paper we argue for expanding the scope of applications for biofoundries towards roles in biosurveillance and biosecurity. Reviewing literature on these topics, we conclude that this could be achieved in multiple ways including developing measurement standards and protocols, engaging citizens in data collection, closer collaborations with biorefineries, and processing of samples. Here we provide an overview of these roles that despite their potential utility have not yet been commonly considered by policymakers and funding agencies and identify roadblocks to their realization. This document should prove useful to policymakers and other stakeholders who wish to strengthen biosecurity programs in ways that synergize with bioeconomy.

Synthetic biologists have made great progress over the past decade in developing methods for modular assembly of genetic sequences and in engineering biological systems with a wide variety of functions in various contexts and organisms. However, current paradigms in the field entangle sequence and functionality in a manner that makes abstraction difficult, reduces engineering flexibility and impairs predictability and design reuse. Functional Synthetic Biology aims to overcome these impediments by focusing the design of biological systems on function, rather than on sequence. This reorientation will decouple the engineering of biological devices from the specifics of how those devices are put to use, requiring both conceptual and organizational change, as well as supporting software tooling. Realizing this vision of Functional Synthetic Biology will allow more flexibility in how devices are used, more opportunity for reuse of devices and data, improvements in predictability and reductions in technical risk and cost.

Chromosome structure and function is studied using various cell-based methods as well as with a range of in vitro single-molecule techniques on short DNA substrates. Here, we present a method to obtain megabase-pair-length deproteinated DNA for in vitro studies. We isolated chromosomes from bacterial cells and enzymatically digested the native proteins. Mass spectrometry indicated that 97%–100% of DNA-binding proteins are removed from the sample. Fluorescence microscopy analysis showed an increase in the radius of gyration of the DNA polymers, while the DNA length remained megabase-pair sized. In proof-of-concept experiments using these deproteinated long DNA molecules, we observed DNA compaction upon adding the DNA-binding protein Fis or PEG crowding agents and showed that it is possible to track the motion of a fluorescently labeled DNA locus. These results indicate the practical feasibility of a “genome-in-a-box” approach to study chromosome organization from the bottom up.