The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded $1.7 million to launch a project developing a wireless DNA and RNA printer operating entirely inside living yeast cells, according to the University of California, Santa Barbara. Led by UCSB molecular biologist Max Wilson and a multi-university team named LUXCODE, the initiative aims to build a nucleic acid compiler that receives instructions and synthesizes genetic sequences without chemical inputs, potentially cutting bioengineering timelines from months to hours.
DARPA Funds LUXCODE Initiative to Build Wireless DNA Printer
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched the initiative with a nine-month, $1.7 million commitment, with tens of millions more potentially available depending on project progress, according to UCSB. Max Wilson, an associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at UCSB, is leading the winning proposal team, LUXCODE.
The project addresses a major bottleneck in bioengineering. While artificial intelligence and advanced measurement systems allow researchers to design tailor-made proteins quickly, producing the actual DNA and RNA sequences remains slow, according to Wilson. Currently, researchers must send genetic instructions to specialized external companies that manufacture sequences base by base using inkjet-like machines, a process that can take weeks or months.
Did you know?
Humanity domesticated yeast at the dawn of civilization, and it’s been an asset ever since. The LUXCODE team is designing them from yeast, which need to be small, shelf-stable, packageable, easy to manufacture and self-replicating.
How the Nucleic Acid Compiler Works Inside Living Yeast
To bypass traditional supply chains, the LUXCODE team is engineering a strain of yeast to serve as a nucleic acid compiler, or NAC, according to project details released by UCSB. The system relies on four different light-activated polymerase enzymes, which are proteins that build DNA and RNA.
Each enzyme is engineered to respond to both a unique color of light as well as one shared color to synchronize the process, according to the university. By flashing a five-color strobe light at this yeast cell, researchers can have it synthesize a snippet of RNA or DNA pretty much in real time. Adding an enzyme that can splice the sequence into the yeast’s own genome turns the cell not just into the compiler, but also into the model organism.
Academic Partnerships and Biosecurity Measures
The LUXCODE project brings together researchers from four different universities to tackle the complex optics, quantum mechanics, and biological engineering required, according to UCSB. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Megan McLean is working on robotic systems that connect optics with biology, while Sijia Dong at Northeastern University focuses on the quantum mechanics involved in protein design and fabrication. The team also includes Jim Collins at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whom Wilson calls “the godfather of synthetic biology.”
Because the technology lowers the barrier to protein synthesis, the team is considering the biosecurity impacts their project may have, according to Wilson. Because this particular yeast strain exhibits much slower growth compared to both wild and domestic varieties, unauthorized cultivation by bad actors is rendered exceptionally challenging. Additionally, the scientists are considering different failsafes that could kill the cell if it synthesizes something toxic or infectious.
Potential Applications in Defense and Disaster Relief
According to UCSB, DARPA’s ultimate vision is the ability to transmit email instructions to distant sites for on-demand protein creation at locations such as military installations, wilderness environments, or space stations. Wilson envisions researchers beaming instructions to a cell in the lab, synthesizing their DNA, producing and test their protein, then using the results to refine their machine learning system.
The technology could allow scientists to investigate therapeutics in days, test out antibodies in a work week, or design enzymes for environmental cleanups right after a disaster occurs, according to the university.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a nucleic acid compiler?
A nucleic acid compiler, or NAC, is a system designed to receive instructions and synthesize a sequence of DNA or RNA without any chemical input.
Who is leading the DARPA-funded LUXCODE project?
Max Wilson, an associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is leading the LUXCODE team.
Why is yeast being used for this project?
Yeast is one of the oldest substrates for bioengineering, and these NACs need to be small, shelf-stable, packageable, easy to manufacture and self-replicating, according to UCSB researchers.
What are the primary security measures planned for the technology?
Researchers are engineering the yeast strain to grow much more slowly than its wild and domestic counterparts and are considering different failsafes that could kill the cell if it synthesizes something toxic or infectious.
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