Tool Development for Transformational Biotechnology - ARPA-e

60 Pages·2012·2.36 MB·English

Tool Development for
Transformational Biotechnology
Advances
October 6-7, 2011
Arlington, VA
Summary Report
Contents
ARPA-E Background 3
Workshop Context 8
Keynote Summaries (June Medford and Neal Stewart) 16
Morning Breakout Sessions Output 19
• Plant Systems
• Genetic Tools
• Engineering Tools
Afternoon Technical Improvisation Session Output 40
• Host Modification
• Transformation
• Analysis
Wrap-up Session 54
Advanced Research Projects Agency • Energy
ARPA-E Background

Advanced Research Projects Agency • Energy
ARPA-E’s Mission
• Find and fund high-risk, high-
impact projects

Reduce Energy-
Related Emissions • Identify and promote
revolutionary advances in
fundamental sciences
To enhance the economic and energy security of the U.S.
• Accelerate transformational

technologies or create new
technologies where none
currently exist
To ensure U.S. technological lead in developing and

deploying advanced energy technologies
• Translate scientific discoveries
and cutting-edge inventions into
technological innovations
Reduce Energy Improve Energy

Imports Efficiency
• Bridge gaps in the energy
innovation pipeline

Advanced Research Projects Agency • Energy
ARPA-E was created with a vision to bridge gaps in the energy
innovation pipeline
Office of SC Applied Programs (4B) Loan Guarantees
Existing (5B) ($128B)
Programs

Prototype/
Demos
Tech Gap Tech Gap Commercialization
Gaps
What ARPA-E will do What ARPA-E will NOT do
• Seek high impact science and • Incremental improvements
engineering projects • Basic research
• Invest in the best ideas and • Long term projects or block grants
teams • Large-scale demonstration projects
• Will tolerate and manage high
technical risk
• Accelerate translation from
science to markets
• Proof of concept and prototyping
5
What is an ARPA-E project?
Disruptive, innovative
High impact on ARPA-E
technical approaches &
mission areas
new learning curves

•Best-in-class people &
Strong impact of ARPA-E
teams containing
funding relative to private
scientists and engineers;
sector
•Attract the US

intellectual horsepower
to energy R&D
6
Technology Readiness Levels
TRL 9 TRL 9 : Actual technology system qualified through successful mission
operations.
TRL 8
TRL 8 : Actual technology system completed and qualified through test

and demonstration.
TRL 7

TRL 7 : Technology prototype demonstration in an operational
TRL 6 environment.

E
TRL 6 : Technology demonstration in a relevant environment.
A- TRL 5

P
TRL 5 : Technology validation in relevant environment.
R
A TRL 4
TRL 4 : Technology validation in laboratory.

TRL 3 TRL 3 : Analytical and experimental critical function and/or
characteristic proof-of-concept.
TRL 2
TRL 2 : Technology concept and/or application formulated.

TRL 1 TRL 1 : Basic principles observed.
7
WORKSHOP CONTEXT

www.arpa-e.energy.gov
Premise of the Workshop
• Agriculture, as process engineering, is far from optimized,
– Inefficient energy transduction ( < 6%)
– Wasteful carbon capture and processing (yield < 25%)
– Sequestration in difficult-to-process forms (e.g., cellulose)
• New tools lead to transformational changes, and
• There are opportunities for significant advances. vs.
– “Plant Biotechnology” lags other biotechnologies
• Is it able to progress more rapidly as a consequence??
– “Genetic Engineering” remains aspirational
• “Art”, at best, for all but a few well-understood organisms…
• …but progress ≈ data throughput.
– “Synthetic Biology” is in its infancy
• “…new biological parts, devices and systems…”
[syntheticbiology.org]
• “… novel artificial biological pathways, organisms or devices…”
[Royal Society]
• “… combines science & engineering [for] novel biological functions & systems…”
[SynBERC]
• “… the engineering of biology…”
[European Commission]
Advanced Research Projects Agency • Energy
Examples of Recent Advances in Science
• Large scale genome wide modifications in microbes using techniques
such as Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering (MAGE).
• Conjugative Assembly Genome Engineering (CAGE) converts all TAG codons in E. coli to TAA
[Isaacs et al., Science 333, 348 (2011)
Advanced Research Projects Agency • Energy