Establishment of Protozoa as Synthetic Biology Chassis

CD Biosynsis has a scientific team dedicated to the study of protozoa, aiming to explore their potential as synthetic biology chassis and create new possibilities in biotechnology and medicine. We help our customers develop genetic tools and synthetic biology methodologies to establish more model organisms for studying protozoa and evaluate their potential applications in fundamental biological studies and different industries.

Background

The rapid development of synthetic biology is often limited by the lack of options in terms of chassis. Looking beyond the tradational synthetic biology chassis towards the abundant organisms in nature that may poss desirable physiological features and functions is a promising strategy. Protozoa represent an attractive untapped source of synthetic biology chassis because they are highly evolutionarily divergent from the more commonly used bacterial, fungal, and mammalian cells. Protozoa with fast doubling times and ease of culture have recently emerged as a novel manufacturing platform for biotherapeutics, such as recombinant subunit vaccines. Trypanosoma brucei, as a model organism, has been established as the first and a promising novel synthetic biology chassis in the phylum Protozoa. It is believed that the birth of the Protist 10,000 Genomes Project and the establishment of synthetic biology approaches in protozoa will greatly expand our understanding of protozoa and enhance their industrial capabilities.

What We Can Do

CD Biosynsis has built a team of scientists focused on the study of diversity, evolution, cytology, molecular biology, epigenetics, and pathobiology of protozoa. We work on developing genetic tools and synthetic biology approaches to enhance the capability of protozoa as new synthetic biology chassis, laying the foundation for future applications of synthetic biology. Our expanding synthetic biology toolbox allows us to provide more comprehensive support to our customers.

Protozoa-Based Applications

Protozoa have long been useful models for diverse fields, including genetics, cell biology, evolutionary biology, ecology, pathology, and toxicology. With the intensive study of protozoa, CD Biosynsis has tried to establish protozoa such as Trypanosoma brucei, the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideumas, and Eimeria tenella as synthetic biology chassis. Our scientists have also been working to explore the synthetic biology potential of other types of protozoa (e.g., ciliates). Protozoa as synthetic biology chassis are expected to open up new possibilities for the following applications.

Want to Learn More?

CD Biosynsis has been continuously expanding our synthetic biology toolbox and keeping our knowledge and skills current. We provide full support for our customers' innovations in synthetic biology. If you require any further details, please feel free to contact us and let us know how we can support your new idea or project.

References

1. Borg Y, et al. Synthetic biology tools for engineering Goodwin oscillation in Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Heliyon, 2022, 8(2): e08891.
2. Montagnes D, et al. The rise of model protozoa. Trends in microbiology, 2012, 20(4): 184-191.

Please note that all services are for research use only. Not intended for any clinical use.