Modular design: Implementing proven engineering principles in biotechnology

Garcia, Sergio; Trinh, Cong T.

doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2019.06.002

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Modular design: Implementing proven engineering principles in biotechnology

Garcia, Sergio·Trinh, Cong T.

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Abstract

Modular design resides at the foundation of contemporary engineering, enabling rapid, efficient, and reproducible construction and maintenance of complex systems across applications. Remarkably, modularity has recently been discovered as a governing principle in natural biological systems from genes to proteins to complex networks within a cell and organism communities. The convergent knowledge of natural and engineered modular systems provides a key to drive modern biotechnology to address emergent challenges associated with health, food, energy, and the environment. Here, we first present the theory and application of modular design in traditional engineering fields. We further discuss the significance and impact of modular architectures on systems biology and biotechnology. Next, we focus on the very recent theoretical and experimental advances in modular cell engineering that seeks to enable rapid and systematic development of microbial catalysts capable of efficiently synthesizing a large space of useful chemicals. We conclude with an outlook towards theoretical and practical opportunities for a more systematic and effective application of modular engineering in biotechnology.

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Evolvability Industrialization of biology Metabolic engineering Microbial biocatalysis ModCell Modular cell Modular cell engineering Modular design Modularity Networks Pareto optimality Robustness Synthetic biology Systems biology

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Garcia, Sergio, Trinh, Cong T.. 2019-06-07. Modular design: Implementing proven engineering principles in biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2019.06.002

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