Applications for Synthetic Biology in Industrial Biotechnology

With their provenance as an excellent source of pharmaceutical, neutraceutical and health promoting chemistries, plant natural products are an attractive target for biotechnological development for industrialization  so as to make them more widely available.  To realize this potential, two strategies are currently being employed whereby the associated metabolic pathways are engineered in planta, or are ectopically expressed in microbial hosts and produced through fermentation. In both cases it is clear that recent developments in genetics, and our understanding of metabolism are providing us with unprecedented tools to fast-track these ambitions.  In addition, the advent of synthetic biology, where approaches more commonly employed in engineering are applied to design and optimize bioprocesses has much to offer industrial biotechnology in the future.  

In this meeting a series of metabolic engineering programs  representing each of the differing strategies for natural product biosynthesis will be presented and the potential merits of plant Vs microbial industrial biotechnology discussed, along with projections as to how each might benefit from synthetic biology based approaches.  In addition to reviewing the latest development in plant natural product biochemistry and molecular biology, the meeting will be formative in shaping thinking as to how and where new approaches like synthetic biology can be best applied in industrial biotechnology in the coming years.  

Professor Robert Edwards, Chief Scientist, The Food and Environment Research Agency

Professor John Ward, University College London, United Kingdom

Professor Gary Loake, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Professor Ian Graham, CNAP Director and Weston Chair of Biochemical Genetics, University of York, United Kingdom

Professor Johnathan Napier, Rothamsted Research Limited, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Professor Cathie Martin, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, UK 

Professor Anne Osbourn, Associate Research Director, John Innes Centre 

After this time the fees double, so make sure you register early!