(470a) Invited Talk: New Opportunities Afforded By the Biosynthesis of Non-Standard Amino Acids

Non-standard amino acids (nsAAs) are building blocks for polypeptides that are not typically used during ribosomal translation. While efficient manufacturing routes for these products have long been of interest given their use in therapeutic peptides or proteins, the biosynthesis of nsAAs can enable new opportunities for engineering live microbial technologies. In this talk, I will present three sets of opportunities. The first opportunity is that nsAA biosynthesis allows cells to autonomously augment their protein chemistry, and this could be useful when engineering live vaccines or therapeutics. The second opportunity is that the biosynthesis of diverse phenylalanine derivatives from readily accessible precursors widens the classes of molecules that control protein translation, and this could be valuable to engineer biological containment based on a wider array of inputs. The third opportunity is that the biosynthesis of nsAA by one organism and the reliance on nsAAs by a second organism can create orthogonal ecologies, and this could be valuable for sustaining biologically contained organisms when released for applications in the environment. Collectively, these strategies at the intersection of metabolic engineering and chemical biology should help advance microbial technologies, particularly for applications outside of the bioreactor for the benefit of human and planetary health.