Overview
Genetic engineering seeks to improve agricultural outcomes by enhancing traits such as disease resistance, drought tolerance or superior levels of production. Conducting this engineering, however, requires a host where genes can be implanted and researchers perform genetic manipulations – a process known as synthetic biology. Drs. Turlough Finan, Bogumil Karas and Trevor Charles are developing a bacterial surrogate host system (Sinorhizobium meliloti) that allows replication and engineering of large DNA fragments before reintroducing them back to the original organism. In addition to its general application for genome engineering, the S. meliloti surrogate host-system technology can be used in short-term technology developments, including the generation of large DNA libraries for bioprospecting.