Our team split into three small groups in March and each proposed a refined project idea. Our other ideas included lysin synthesis to treat acne and the development of a bamboo chassis to combat air pollution. After much heated debate and further research into project feasibility, we chose to focus our research on biocontainment. We wanted to use a large-scale approach to improve the field of synthetic biology. By developing a reliable biocontrol standard, we aim to promote practical, safe implementation of biological devices.

No standard currently exists for containment of biological devices. This shortcoming prevents the widespread implementation of useful engineered devices. The two most popular biocontainment methods in use are killswitch mechanisms and induced synthetic auxotrophy. Killswitch methods fail because contained organisms revert to wild-type via mutagenesis with the aid of selective pressures. Organisms can also escape synthetic auxotrophy control via mutagenesis, or by acquiring the synthetic resource in the environment. A more reliable form of biocontainment is necessary for safe, standardized implementation of biological devices. We propose editing the genome of E. coli to induce an enzyme-specific auxotrophy. Due to the complexity of our editing, revertant mutations will likely result in cell death - this will significantly reduce the probability of escapee propagation. Furthermore, we will select an induced auxotrophy system that is dependent on a synthetic amino acid not found in nature; thereby eliminating the possibility of environmental uptake. Our goal is to create the foundation for a reliable, standardized, and universally applicable biocontainment system.