The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) supports world-leading multidisciplinary synthetic biology research in the UK. Synthetic biology could help to solve major global challenges in fields including health and wellbeing, energy, food security and the environment.
We are keen to encourage proposals in the emerging area of synthetic biology. It can be described as the design and construction of novel biologically based parts, devices and systems, as well as redesigning existing natural biological systems for useful purposes.
It incorporates the principles of engineering (for example modularity, abstraction and orthogonality) into classical biotechnology, and has a number of potential applications within the bio-based knowledge economy. These include but are not limited to: industrial biotechnology, bioenergy, bioprocessing, novel materials and biosensors.
Research areas
Within this context, we are keen to encourage proposals in six areas.
Proposals may be focused on a specific scientific question, sector, or industrial outcome. They can also be aimed at underpinning technologies and research.
Orthogonal biosystems
We encourage proposals in engineering cells and organisms to include systems or parts not found in nature to impart new capacities or chemistry.
Regulatory circuits
Proposals in designing and inserting well-characterised circuits or networks, to generate new functions or responses in cells and organisms are encouraged.
Protocells
We also encourage proposals in bottom-up chemical design approaches to produce synthetic or semi-synthetic cells and compartments.
Metabolic engineering
Proposals involving using complex modifications informed by predictive models of biosynthetic pathways to allow or enhance production of useful products are also encouraged.
Minimal genomes
We encourage proposals involving the understanding of the minimal number of parts (genes) needed for life, to serve as a chassis for engineering minimal cell factories for new functions.
Bionanoscience
Proposals for projects that utilise and exploit synthetic molecular nano machines based on cellular systems are also encouraged.
Requirements
Projects should focus on underpinning and enabling one of our strategic research priorities or have potential generic utility across one or more broad areas of the biosciences.
Our strategic research priorities are:
- food security
- industrial biotechnology
- bioscience underpinning health.
It is expected that proposals will require strong multidisciplinary partnerships between bioscientists and researchers in engineering, the physical sciences and information technology disciplines.
Data sharing
Proposals should comply with our data sharing policy. Proposals developing informatics tools should make such tools available to the wider user and developer community with as few restrictions as possible. They should, ideally use open source best practices, for example Creative Commons or Open Source Initiative recommended licences.
However, we recognise that, at times, the creators’ intellectual property rights may need to be protected before any sharing takes place. This is encouraged where appropriate beforehand. Such protection should not unduly delay the release of any data or tools arising from BBSRC funding.
Impact
It is expected that proposals will provide tools and resources of potential application to broad communities in the biosciences.
Ethical and other issues
We recognise that synthetic biology raises potential social, ethical, legal and philosophical issues and that these should be considered concomitantly with the scientific agenda and as research progresses.