Policing Chemical and Biological Threats through Synthetic Biology

FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

09.29.2016

Courtesy Story

Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Chemical and Biological Technologies Department

Fort Belvoir, Va. - The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Joint Science and Technology Office is now a leader in the synthetic biology and gene editing community due to a series of initiatives spearheaded by JSTO scientist Dr. Brian Pate. These efforts helped create a safer operating environment for our warfighters and address challenges posed by chemical and biological weapons.

One of Dr. Pate’s initiatives focuses on exploring the microbiomes of mosquito larvae to identify genetic traits that confer resistance to deadly nerve agents. Performed at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, this work leverages a novel method of microbiome manipulation known as “pawnobiome evolution” to clarify the causal connection between the microbiome and the host phenotype. Specifically, the research explores the genetic changes of the microbiome that confer pesticide resistance to the mosquitos. Scientists will then consider which of these strategies to introduce the identified microbiome genetic traits into naïve bacteria strains relevant to protect warfighters from nerve agents.

A second effort under Dr. Pate’s management, performed at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), strives to understand the response of skin microbiomes to chemical and biological agents. The team will select appropriate candidate organisms native to the human skin microbiome to serve as hosts for genetic modification to introduce protective responses. The goal is to modify the bacteria living on the skin of warfighters so they can police the skin’s surface for chemical and biological agents. If a harmful agent is detected, the modified organism will release an appropriate countermeasure or wound-healing growth factor.

JSTO’s broader synthetic biology program also includes an effort performed at the Naval Research Laboratory and the U.S. Naval Academy. This activity, which spans multiple departments at both institutions, explores the response of the microbiome within the respiratory tract to marine toxins, as well as how the human respiratory microbiome can be modified to introduce resistance to toxin-based weapons.

Recently several groups of Naval Academy midshipmen collaborated with students from the California Institute of Technology, George Mason University, University of Maryland and Naval Research Laboratory scientists. The teams utilized molecular modeling to clarify the time-dependent gating of ion channels that are the target of certain marine toxins and predicted the amount of time available to cells to respond to these toxins. They then cloned two-component voltage sensors into a vector to be introduced into cells. This will allow the cells the ability to sense the presence of toxins that target ion channels. The project aims to modify the microbiome of the human respiratory tract to make it capable of sensing toxins that target ion channels and providing a countermeasure response.

DTRA’s efforts also include fostering a deeper understanding of synthetic biology for future warfighters. The DTRA Syn Bio Academies Challenge is a pilot program where cadets and midshipmen compete for an annual prize while exploring the field of synthetic biology.

In addition, Mr. Dale Taylor and Dr. Ashley Triplett, also from JSTO, recently mentored students in synthetic biology at the 2016 Joint Science and Technology Institute. DTRA’s initiatives for current and future warfighters continue to position JSTO as a leader in synthetic biology.

POC: Dr. Brian Pate; [e-mail]

• Date Taken: 09.29.2016
• Date Posted: 09.30.2016 08:54
• Story ID: 210991
• Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US