[Closes 20 Feb 2018] Synthetic Biology Postdoc at Earlham Institute

OpenPlant PI Dr Nicola Patron is looking for a Postdoctoral Research Scientist to work on a European Research Area (ERA) CoBioTech collaborative project based in the Patron Lab at the Earlham Institute. The project will use will use synthetic biology, comparative transcriptomics, metabolic engineering and genome editing/engineering techniques to develop plants and fungi as low-cost, sustainable production platforms for biosynthesis of insect pheromones..

Apply now >>
Closing date 20th February 2018

[Closes 14 March 2018] NSF-USDA-BBSRC Joint Funding Opportunity to Develop Breakthrough Ideas and Enabling Technologies to Advance Crop Breeding and Functional Genomics

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have established a joint funding opportunity to support the development of breakthrough technologies that will enable significant advances in crop breeding. This opportunity aims to make high impact changes in the ability to translate basic knowledge of plant genomics to practical outcomes in crops of economic importance to the participating countries.

This NSF-BIO, USDA-NIFA and BBSRC Joint Activity is soliciting Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals to support development of breakthrough ideas and technologies to speed the development for new crop varieties.

See more information below and at this page >>

There remain significant bottlenecks to improving crop varieties even if new traits or natural variants are identified, such as producing hybrids, understanding recombination, and epigenetic inheritance as examples. Translation of basic knowledge to practical outcomes can be accelerated by key emerging technologies that exploit genomics rapidly and effectively. This EAGER opportunity invites proposals to overcome these barriers to crop breeding in highly innovative and transformative ways. Investigators considering this opportunity should articulate how the enabling technologies would be used to improve crop breeding.

Areas of research that await breakthrough advances and are appropriate for this EAGER opportunity include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Advancing genome editing technology to generate new phenotypes for greater genetic gain
• Achieving reliable and high throughput production of doubled haploids from genotypes that are currently recalcitrant to chromosome doubling to accelerate the breeding process in cereals and other crops
• Controlling and understanding meiotic recombination to tap into inaccessible genetic resources in areas of low recombination and enabling whole genome manipulation
• Modifying epigenetic inheritance to facilitate phenotypic changes related to environmental responses
• Understanding mechanisms of heterosis, thereby generating and exploiting hybrid vigor for crop improvement

For this EAGER opportunity, emphasis should be on developing enabling technologies that will impact crops or model crop systems. Projects that focus solely on sequencing will not be considered. Funded projects relevant to the goals of the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) will be invited to become IWYP Aligned Projects.

Proposed studies should be potentially transformative and must be considered "high-risk, high-payoff" to achieve the goal of making technological breakthroughs to promote crop breeding. Studies should be compatible with the budget (up to $300,000 for US components and up to £200,000 for UK components) and time limits (2 years) of the EAGER funding mechanism. For collaborative US/UK EAGER projects, BBSRC will fund UK researchers up to £200,000 and NSF or NIFA will fund US researchers up to $300,000 including indirect costs. US only EAGERS are limited to $300,000 total including indirect costs. Further details are provided below for budgetary limits for UK partners. EAGER proposals may originate from US-UK partnerships or from US-only applicants. EAGERs solely involving UK applicants are not permitted. For more information on EAGERs, please review NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

More information >>

Call for Proposals: 5th International Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - SSBSS 2018

The Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School (SSBSS) is a full-immersion five-day residential summer school on cutting-edge advances in systems and synthetic biology with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. The 2018 Summer School will take place July 25-29, 2018 at Certosa di Pontignano in Tuscany, Italy.

The school provides a stimulating environment for students (from Master students to PhD students), Post-Docs, early career researches, academics and industry leaders. Participants will also have the chance to present their results (with Oral Talks and Posters), and to interact with their peers, in a friendly and constructive environment.

Deadlines

Application: March 31, 2018

Oral Presentation/Poster Submission: March 31, 2018

Notification of Decision for Oral/Poster Presentation: April 28, 2018

Register here >>

Keynote Speakers

* PATRICK YIZHI CAI, University of Manchester, UK

* JOHN GLASS, J. Craig Venter Institute, USA

* PHILIPP HOLLIGER, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK

* JENS NIELSEN, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

* HARRIS WANG, Columbia University, USA

* RON WEISS, MIT, USA

* LUCA ZAMMATARO, Yale University, USA

Speakers 

* Barbara Di Camillo, University of Padova, Italy

* Simone Furini, University of Siena, Italy

* Emanuele Domenico Giordano, University of Bologna, Italy

* Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Imperial College London, UK

* Velia Siciliano, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy

Links

• More information on website >>
• Email via ssbss@icas.xyz
• Facebook >>

Prof Giles Oldroyd joins Sainsbury Lab to engineer nitrogen-fixing cereals

Prof Giles Oldroyd, an OpenPlant PI who directs a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation programme of research to engineer nitrogen-fixing cereals has recently joined the Sainsbury Lab at University Cambridge after 15 years at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.

Prof. Giles Oldroyd is a leading investigator in plant-symbiotic interactions, with a particular focus on the signalling processes that allow the establishment of nitrogen-fixing and arbuscular mycorrhizal associations. His work has provided the genetic underpinnings to understand the symbiosis signalling pathway that allows rhizobial recognition in legumes and mycorrhizal associations in most plants. He explained his interests in an introductory post on the SLCU website:

"I spent 15 years working at the John Innes Centre, attempting to understand how plants perceive symbiotic microorganisms present in the rhizosphere. Having contributed to a detailed understanding of symbiosis signalling, I now want to understand how this signalling process activates the developmental changes in the root leading to the formation of a nodule and intracellular bacterial infection."

“I am very excited by the prospect that some day this research could address one of the greatest limitations to agricultural productivity”

— Prof Giles Oldroyd, SLCU

Prof Oldroyd now leads an international programme funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the BBSRC that is attempting to engineer cereal recognition of rhizobial bacteria as the first step towards engineering nitrogen-fixing cereals.

"There remains much to be discovered before we are likely to be able to transfer nitrogen fixation to cereals. However, I am very excited by the prospect that some day this research could address one of the greatest limitations to agricultural productivity and I am particularly motivated by the fact that the beneficiaries of my work could be some of the poorest people on the planet."

The SynBio SRI welcomes the Oldroyd Lab to Cambridge and we look forward hearing more about their work in plant synthetic biology.

Prof Giles Oldroyd's homepage at SLCU >>

Essex Synthetic Biology Summer School: 2-6 July 2018

The Essex Synthetic Biology School (ESBS) is an intensive 5-day summer course targeting students and early career scientists interested in learning cutting edge experimental and computational methods to design and build biological systems directly from world-renowned experts, working with bacterial, yeast, plant and mammalian systems, in fields such as cancer and healthcare research, as well as industrial, agricultural and environmental synthetic biology.

Synthetic biology is an emerging research and industrial field aiming at designing and engineering biological systems with specific functions. To do that, it integrates methods and technologies from biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science and mathematics to streamline the process of designing, building and testing biological systems. In the last 10 years, synthetic biology has contributed many ground breaking scientific results, including the first synthetic cell and the first synthetic chromosomes, and industrial applications, including the production of drugs and biofuels.

The School, located at the University of Essex in the U.K., comprises 20 lectures and 5 laboratory sessions, focusing on building pathways in bacteria and yeast.

Learn more and register by 1 June 2018 >>>

[Closes 5 March 2018] 2018 CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellowships

The CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform (SynBioFSP) is pleased to announce the opening of the second round of CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellowships. The scheme aims to attract outstanding national and international early-career post-doctoral researchers (equivalent to Australian Academic Levels A and B, or in exceptional circumstances, Level C) to expand Australian research capacity in synthetic biology. A key element of the SynBio FSP is establishment of a collaborative community of practice extending across CSIRO and Australia more broadly, and linking into international efforts in the field. Research projects must demonstrate an ability to build Australian capacity in synthetic biology.

Fellowships will be hosted at a Host Organisation (usually an Australian University, but other Australian research organisations may also be eligible) and will be a partnership between the Fellow, CSIRO, and the Host Organisation. Fellows will be employed by the Host Organisation but will maintain a strong linkage to CSIRO through a partnering CSIRO Mentor(s) and various joint activities designed to support development of a synthetic biology community of practice across Australia. Fellows will have a Visiting Scientist appointment at CSIRO and may spend a portion of time physically located within a CSIRO research group if appropriate for the Fellowship project.

The SynBio FSP is built on a philosophy of responsible development of synthetic biology technology, striving for ethical outcomes and working within the bounds of social acceptance. Project proposals in the social sciences, as well as in lab-based research, are encouraged.

How to apply?

Further information and application instructions for the Fellowships are available at:https://research.csiro.au/synthetic-biology-fsp/work-with-us/synbio-fellowships/

Applications must be submitted by 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, Monday 5th March 2018.

Further enquiries can be directed to: SynBioFSP@csiro.au  

We strongly encourage women, people of Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, and other minority groups to apply.

OpenPlant Fund supports open source multi-fluorescence imaging system published in PLOS One

The advent of easy-to-use open source microcontrollers, off-the-shelf electronics and customizable manufacturing technologies has facilitated the development of inexpensive scientific devices and laboratory equipment. In this study supported by the OpenPlant Fund, Isaac Nuñez, Tamara Matute and collaborators describe a multi-fluorescence imaging system that integrates low-cost and open-source hardware, software and genetic resources.

The illumination and optics system consists of readily available 470 nm LEDs, a Raspberry Pi camera and a set of filters made with low cost acrylics and the box design and flexible focusing allows imaging in scales ranging from single colonies to entire plates. The team also developed a set of genetic components (e.g. promoters, coding sequences, terminators) and vectors following the standard framework of Golden Gate, which allowed the fabrication of genetic constructs in a combinatorial, low cost and robust manner. In order to provide simultaneous imaging of multiple wavelength signals, they screened a series of long stokes shift fluorescent proteins that could be combined with cyan/green fluorescent proteins for 3-channel fluorescent imaging.

Open source Python code was developed to operate the hardware to run time-lapse experiments with automated control of illumination and camera and a Python module to analyze data and extract meaningful biological information. To demonstrate the potential application of this integral system, the team tested its performance on a diverse range of imaging assays often used in disciplines such as microbial ecology, microbiology and synthetic biology.

Isaac Nuñez appreciated the opportunity to work on the project with the support of OpenPlant: “OpenPlant funds were important because we are generating a real impact in research and teaching through interdisciplinarity. This project not only introduced us to new modes of work based on good practices, documentation and open source licensing but also allowed us to learn from different fields such as open hardware, design, FOSS and advanced DNA fab methods.”

In order to highlight the benefits of employing an open framework, the team formed an industry partnership with the Open Source company Backyard Brains (TM), which has significant experience in creating and distributing open educational and research technology for neuroscience in Latin America and worldwide (backyardbrains.com, backyardbrains.cl). In collaboration, the team assessed the potential use of their imaging statuon in a high school environment.  Author Tamara Matute explained “We have been able to use these resources in workshops in high schools, community spaces and cultural centres; and implement advanced practicals to teach in vitro synbio, DNA fab and microbiology. The open source and low cost nature of the resources has allowed citizens to better understand the principles behind gene expression analysis and modelling”

Together, their results demonstrate the successful integration of open source hardware, software, genetic resources and customizable manufacturing to obtain a powerful, low cost and robust system for education, scientific research and bioengineering. The paper was selected as Editor's Pick for the PLOS Open Source Toolkit Channel in December 2017.

Original Publication: Nuñez, I., Matute, T., Herrera, R., Keymer, J., Marzullo, T., Rudge, T., & Federici, F. (2017). Low cost and open source multi-fluorescence imaging system for teaching and research in biology and bioengineering. PLOS One, 12(11), e0187163.

Synthetic Biology and the Senses: volunteers wanted for Cambridge Science Festival

Synthetic biology can bring cutting edge biotechnology into everyday experiences through people's senses by harnessing the wonderful variety of colours, scents, tastes and textures produced in nature. We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers and interactive exhibits or colourful posters to illustrate the theme of 'Synthetic Biology and the Senses' at the Cambridge Science Festival Life Science Marquee on Sat 17 March 2018.

'Synthetic Biology and the Senses' is a joint exhibit by OpenPlant and the SynBio SRI and will run 10:00-16:00 on Sat 17 March 2018 on the Downing Site Lawn, with volunteers required before and after for set-up and packing down. 

We are looking for volunteers to help out and talk to visitors as well as proposing activies or exhibits of their own. In 2017 we featured exhibits including:

• Bioluminescent bacteria

• Fabrics dyed with synthetic ink from bacteria

• Micro-organisms expressing plant metabloic pathways to produce rose and patchouli scents

• Design-a-plant

• Dave the DNA Robot

 We require volunteers for various times of the day and would be very happy to have 4 people at the exhibit at all times. Two hour slots are available and volunteers can stay as long as they wish. Lunch and Science Festival T-Shirt provided!

Please register via this form.