(556g) Approaching Sequence Completeness: Model-Predictive Design & Engineering of Synthetic Genetic Systems

We introduce new biophysical models of gene expression to accurately predict transcription rates, translation rates, and mRNA decay rates from sequence information. We show how combining sequence-to-function model predictions leads to the accelerated design and engineering of genetic systems with valuable biotechnology applications. Our model building and testing efforts utilize the latest advances in oligopool synthesis, library-based cloning, and next-generation sequencing to carry out thousands of defined experiments per workflow. As a demonstrative application, we show how engineered organisms can detect explosive compounds inside the soil and report on their presence by producing pleasantly potent odorant molecules. Overall, our model-based design platform for engineering organisms is utilized by over 10,000 registered researchers who have engineered over 850,000 synthetic genetic systems with diverse biotech applications.