Many microbes are extremophiles, capable of surviving conditions that would spell instant death for you and me. From deep-sea hydrothermal vents to boiling hot springs, these single-celled creatures have evolved special tools to help them thrive in tough places. Researchers have long wanted to harness these tools for human applications.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) sees the potential of extremophiles, too, as the organization has awarded a $22 million grant to three California universities to form a research hub focusing on extreme microbes, called a BioFoundry.
NSF BioFoundries are facilities meant to enable researchers to quickly design, create, test and streamline the development of tools and products to expand research capabilities in areas of economic interest. The newly funded BioFoundry for Extreme and Exceptional Fungi, Archaea and Bacteria (ExFAB) will be formed by a collaboration between the University of California, Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and California State Polytechnic University Pomona.
“ExFAB provides an exciting opportunity to open synthetic biology to the vast diversity of microbes that nature provides,” UCR chemical engineer and ExFAB co-director Ian Wheeldon, Ph.D., said in an Aug. 20 release. UCR’s facility is set to open early next year, according to the release.
The facilities will use automated liquid handlers, novel robotic workflows, technology powered by machine learning and first-of-its-kind instrumentation, Wheeldon said, to speed up research on a more diverse set of microbes. One project is set to explore bacteria that can break down so-called “forever chemicals” in water.
Other microbes could provide never-before-seen proteins or chemicals that serve therapeutic functions. Many extremophiles make antibiotics, antifungals and other compounds that could be co-opted for human medicine. Taq polymerase, an enzyme that is critical for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), one of the most common procedures in biotech labs, originated in a bacteria that thrives in Yellowstone National Park’s famous hot springs.
ExFAB will also educate students in the UC and Cal State systems, and offer summer trainings for researchers who want to use the facility. Part of the BioFoundry’s educational goals is to attract and train the future biotechnology workforce, according to the release.