Engineering Genetic Isolation
Event details
| Date | 06.08.2024 |
| Hour | 14:00 › 15:00 |
| Speaker | Jérôme Zürcher, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
BIOENGINEERING SEMINAR
Abstract:
The genetic code defines the correspondence between codons in genes and amino acids in proteins. Due to the genetic code's universality genetic information can be transferred horizontally between organisms of different species. In biotechnological applications the uncontrolled transfer of genetic information is undesirable. Especially when using engineered organisms outside of a laboratory setting it is critical to avoid transferring genes to species in the environment. We engineered a strain of E. coli changing the structure of its genetic code. This enabled its bi-directional genetic isolation - the strain can neither receive from nor give genetic information to the environment. In order to engineer the genetic code of an organism, synthesis of its genome is required. We developed new methodology to synthesise genomes rapidly and efficiently enabling future efforts for the genetic isolation of organisms other than E. coli.
Bio:
Jérôme Zürcher was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. He completed his BSc in interdisciplinary sciences at ETH Zurich (2016-2019), where he conducted his thesis in synthetic biology at Harvard Medical School under the guidance of Prof. Pamela Silver. Following this, he fast-tracked his MSc in interdisciplinary sciences at ETH Zurich as an ESOP scholar, finishing within a year (2019-2020). Currently, Jérôme is pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) under Prof. Jason Chin, focusing on genetic isolation and genome synthesis. He is set to become a tenure-track program leader at the MRC LMB and a Fellow in synthetic biology at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/66353734943
Abstract:
The genetic code defines the correspondence between codons in genes and amino acids in proteins. Due to the genetic code's universality genetic information can be transferred horizontally between organisms of different species. In biotechnological applications the uncontrolled transfer of genetic information is undesirable. Especially when using engineered organisms outside of a laboratory setting it is critical to avoid transferring genes to species in the environment. We engineered a strain of E. coli changing the structure of its genetic code. This enabled its bi-directional genetic isolation - the strain can neither receive from nor give genetic information to the environment. In order to engineer the genetic code of an organism, synthesis of its genome is required. We developed new methodology to synthesise genomes rapidly and efficiently enabling future efforts for the genetic isolation of organisms other than E. coli.
Bio:
Jérôme Zürcher was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. He completed his BSc in interdisciplinary sciences at ETH Zurich (2016-2019), where he conducted his thesis in synthetic biology at Harvard Medical School under the guidance of Prof. Pamela Silver. Following this, he fast-tracked his MSc in interdisciplinary sciences at ETH Zurich as an ESOP scholar, finishing within a year (2019-2020). Currently, Jérôme is pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) under Prof. Jason Chin, focusing on genetic isolation and genome synthesis. He is set to become a tenure-track program leader at the MRC LMB and a Fellow in synthetic biology at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/66353734943
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Bruno Correia, Laboratory of Protein Design and Immunoengineering (LPDI), Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Contact
- Ms. Suzanne Balharry, Laboratory of Protein Design and Immunoengineering (LPDI), Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)