An End-To-End Microfluidic Platform for Engineering Life Supporting Microbes in Space Exploration Missions

HJ Science & Technology proposes a programmable, low-cost, and compact microfluidic platform capable of running automated end-to-end processes and optimization of cellular engineering and synthetic biology applications. In collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Joint Genome Institute, we will establish the feasibility of the proposed microfluidic automation technology by engineering and screening cyanobacterial cells for enhanced production of free fatty acids (FFA), a metabolic crossroad for the synthesis of a suite of useful organic molecules including lipids, alkanes, and potential biofuels starting from carbon dioxide, a metabolic waste product. The ability to perform such automated synthetic biology experiments during NASA missions could enable the production of a broad range of materials on site, and optimization of bioregenerative systems in response to environmental changes. We will demonstrate the microfluidic automation capability for each of the key steps in cellular engineering: 1) construction of a plasmid containing genes for enhanced FFA production in cyanobacteria, 2) subsequent transformation into cyanobacterial cells/chromosomal integration, and 3) screening of expression products. As such, we can assess the FFA levels as a function of the gene variant in almost real time, thereby greatly enhancing our ability to control and optimize FFA production.

Microfluidic automation technology for synthetic biology offers significant opportunities for the development of life sustaining biological systems for long term space exploration missions. Among the potential applications are enhanced production of food and fuels from photosynthetic organisms, processing of waste products such as CO2 or urea, atmosphere regeneration, and water re-utilization as a part of environmental control and life support on the International Space Station. By engineering with new or enhanced metabolic pathways for the production or processing of chemical resources or waste, photosynthesis using cyanobacteria can be a particularly effective mechanism for environmental control and life support.

Synthetic biology offers significant advancements in a broad range of commercial applications including biofuel production, drug development, and agricultural development. The utility of our microfluidic technology in diverse fields is further enhanced by the development of automation procedures for a suite of organisms including cyanobacteria, E. coli, and yeast. As such, the proposed technology could be used in engineering biological processes such as mass producing effective medications, manufacturing specialty chemicals, engineering organisms and enzymes for better biofuel production, or developing crops that are more resistant to pathogens or drought. Generating and screening multiple combinations of genes, enzymes, and other biological parts is also vital to biotechnology research and development.

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