1
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Matuszyńska A, Ebenhöh O, Zurbriggen MD, Ducat DC, Axmann IM. A new era of synthetic biology-microbial community design. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2024; 9:ysae011. [PMID: 39086602 PMCID: PMC11290361 DOI: 10.1093/synbio/ysae011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology conceptualizes biological complexity as a network of biological parts, devices, and systems with predetermined functionalities and has had a revolutionary impact on fundamental and applied research. With the unprecedented ability to synthesize and transfer any DNA and RNA across organisms, the scope of synthetic biology is expanding and being recreated in previously unimaginable ways. The field has matured to a level where highly complex networks, such as artificial communities of synthetic organisms, can be constructed. In parallel, computational biology became an integral part of biological studies, with computational models aiding the unravelling of the escalating complexity and emerging properties of biological phenomena. However, there is still a vast untapped potential for the complete integration of modelling into the synthetic design process, presenting exciting opportunities for scientific advancements. Here, we first highlight the most recent advances in computer-aided design of microbial communities. Next, we propose that such a design can benefit from an organism-free modular modelling approach that places its emphasis on modules of organismal function towards the design of multispecies communities. We argue for a shift in perspective from single organism-centred approaches to emphasizing the functional contributions of organisms within the community. By assembling synthetic biological systems using modular computational models with mathematical descriptions of parts and circuits, we can tailor organisms to fulfil specific functional roles within the community. This approach aligns with synthetic biology strategies and presents exciting possibilities for the design of artificial communities. Graphical Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Matuszyńska
- Computational Life Science, Department of Biology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, CEPLAS, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Oliver Ebenhöh
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, CEPLAS, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
- Institute of Quantitative and Theoretical Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Matias D Zurbriggen
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, CEPLAS, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
- Institute of Synthetic Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Daniel C Ducat
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Ilka M Axmann
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, CEPLAS, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
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2
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Golebiewski M, Bader G, Gleeson P, Gorochowski TE, Keating SM, König M, Myers CJ, Nickerson DP, Sommer B, Waltemath D, Schreiber F. Specifications of standards in systems and synthetic biology: status, developments, and tools in 2024. J Integr Bioinform 2024; 21:jib-2024-0015. [PMID: 39026464 DOI: 10.1515/jib-2024-0015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Golebiewski
- 40092 Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) , Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Padraig Gleeson
- Dept. of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Sarah M Keating
- Advanced Research Computing Centre, University College London, London, UK
| | - Matthias König
- 9373 Institute for Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-University Berlin , Berlin, Germany
| | - Chris J Myers
- Dept. of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Eng., University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA
| | - David P Nickerson
- 428614 Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland , Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Dagmar Waltemath
- Medical Informatics Laboratory, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Falk Schreiber
- Dept. of Computer and Information Science, 26567 University of Konstanz , Konstanz, Germany
- Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
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3
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Tatka LT, Smith LP, Hellerstein JL, Sauro HM. Adapting modeling and simulation credibility standards to computational systems biology. J Transl Med 2023; 21:501. [PMID: 37496031 PMCID: PMC10369698 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04290-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Computational models are increasingly used in high-impact decision making in science, engineering, and medicine. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses computational models to perform complex experiments that are otherwise prohibitively expensive or require a microgravity environment. Similarly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) have began accepting models and simulations as forms of evidence for pharmaceutical and medical device approval. It is crucial that computational models meet a standard of credibility when using them in high-stakes decision making. For this reason, institutes including NASA, the FDA, and the EMA have developed standards to promote and assess the credibility of computational models and simulations. However, due to the breadth of models these institutes assess, these credibility standards are mostly qualitative and avoid making specific recommendations. On the other hand, modeling and simulation in systems biology is a narrower domain and several standards are already in place. As systems biology models increase in complexity and influence, the development of a credibility assessment system is crucial. Here we review existing standards in systems biology, credibility standards in other science, engineering, and medical fields, and propose the development of a credibility standard for systems biology models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lillian T Tatka
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Lucian P Smith
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Herbert M Sauro
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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4
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Martins dos Santos V, Anton M, Szomolay B, Ostaszewski M, Arts I, Benfeitas R, Dominguez Del Angel V, Domínguez-Romero E, Ferk P, Fey D, Goble C, Golebiewski M, Gruden K, Heil KF, Hermjakob H, Kahlem P, Klapa MI, Koehorst J, Kolodkin A, Kutmon M, Leskošek B, Moretti S, Müller W, Pagni M, Rezen T, Rocha M, Rozman D, Šafránek D, T. Scott W, Sheriff RSM, Suarez Diez M, Van Steen K, Westerhoff HV, Wittig U, Wolstencroft K, Zupanic A, Evelo CT, Hancock JM. Systems Biology in ELIXIR: modelling in the spotlight. F1000Res 2022; 11:ELIXIR-1265. [PMID: 36742342 PMCID: PMC9871403 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.126734.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In this white paper, we describe the founding of a new ELIXIR Community - the Systems Biology Community - and its proposed future contributions to both ELIXIR and the broader community of systems biologists in Europe and worldwide. The Community believes that the infrastructure aspects of systems biology - databases, (modelling) tools and standards development, as well as training and access to cloud infrastructure - are not only appropriate components of the ELIXIR infrastructure, but will prove key components of ELIXIR's future support of advanced biological applications and personalised medicine. By way of a series of meetings, the Community identified seven key areas for its future activities, reflecting both future needs and previous and current activities within ELIXIR Platforms and Communities. These are: overcoming barriers to the wider uptake of systems biology; linking new and existing data to systems biology models; interoperability of systems biology resources; further development and embedding of systems medicine; provisioning of modelling as a service; building and coordinating capacity building and training resources; and supporting industrial embedding of systems biology. A set of objectives for the Community has been identified under four main headline areas: Standardisation and Interoperability, Technology, Capacity Building and Training, and Industrial Embedding. These are grouped into short-term (3-year), mid-term (6-year) and long-term (10-year) objectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitor Martins dos Santos
- Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Mihail Anton
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, SE-41258, Sweden
| | - Barbara Szomolay
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Marek Ostaszewski
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, L-4367, Luxembourg
| | - Ilja Arts
- Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Rui Benfeitas
- National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (NBIS), Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Polonca Ferk
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Centre ELIXIR-SI, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Dirk Fey
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, 4, Ireland
| | - Carole Goble
- Department of Computer Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Martin Golebiewski
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies - HITS, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Kristina Gruden
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | | | - Henning Hermjakob
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Pascal Kahlem
- Scientific Network Management SL, Barcelona, 08015, Spain
| | - Maria I. Klapa
- Metabolic Engineering & Systems Biology Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras, 26504, Greece
| | - Jasper Koehorst
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708WE, The Netherlands
| | - Alexey Kolodkin
- Competence Center for Methodology and Statistics; Transversal Translational Medicine, Translational Medicine Operations Hub, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, L-1445, Luxembourg
- ISBE.NL, VU University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Martina Kutmon
- Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
- Department of Bioinformatics - BiGCaT, NUTRIM, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Brane Leskošek
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Centre ELIXIR-SI, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | | | - Wolfgang Müller
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies - HITS, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Marco Pagni
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tadeja Rezen
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Miguel Rocha
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Damjana Rozman
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - David Šafránek
- Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic
| | - William T. Scott
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708WE, The Netherlands
- UNLOCK, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rahuman S. Malik Sheriff
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Maria Suarez Diez
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708WE, The Netherlands
| | - Kristel Van Steen
- BIO3 - Laboratory for Systems Medicine, Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- BIO3 - Systems Genetics, GIGA-R Medical Genomics, University of Liege, Liege, 4000, Belgium
| | | | - Ulrike Wittig
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies - HITS, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Katherine Wolstencroft
- Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333 CA, The Netherlands
| | - Anze Zupanic
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Chris T. Evelo
- Department of Bioinformatics - BiGCaT, NUTRIM, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - John M. Hancock
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
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5
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Martins dos Santos V, Anton M, Szomolay B, Ostaszewski M, Arts I, Benfeitas R, Dominguez Del Angel V, Domínguez-Romero E, Ferk P, Fey D, Goble C, Golebiewski M, Gruden K, Heil KF, Hermjakob H, Kahlem P, Klapa MI, Koehorst J, Kolodkin A, Kutmon M, Leskošek B, Moretti S, Müller W, Pagni M, Rezen T, Rocha M, Rozman D, Šafránek D, T. Scott W, Sheriff RSM, Suarez Diez M, Van Steen K, Westerhoff HV, Wittig U, Wolstencroft K, Zupanic A, Evelo CT, Hancock JM. Systems Biology in ELIXIR: modelling in the spotlight. F1000Res 2022; 11:ELIXIR-1265. [PMID: 36742342 PMCID: PMC9871403 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.126734.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
In this white paper, we describe the founding of a new ELIXIR Community - the Systems Biology Community - and its proposed future contributions to both ELIXIR and the broader community of systems biologists in Europe and worldwide. The Community believes that the infrastructure aspects of systems biology - databases, (modelling) tools and standards development, as well as training and access to cloud infrastructure - are not only appropriate components of the ELIXIR infrastructure, but will prove key components of ELIXIR's future support of advanced biological applications and personalised medicine. By way of a series of meetings, the Community identified seven key areas for its future activities, reflecting both future needs and previous and current activities within ELIXIR Platforms and Communities. These are: overcoming barriers to the wider uptake of systems biology; linking new and existing data to systems biology models; interoperability of systems biology resources; further development and embedding of systems medicine; provisioning of modelling as a service; building and coordinating capacity building and training resources; and supporting industrial embedding of systems biology. A set of objectives for the Community has been identified under four main headline areas: Standardisation and Interoperability, Technology, Capacity Building and Training, and Industrial Embedding. These are grouped into short-term (3-year), mid-term (6-year) and long-term (10-year) objectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitor Martins dos Santos
- Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Mihail Anton
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, SE-41258, Sweden
| | - Barbara Szomolay
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Marek Ostaszewski
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, L-4367, Luxembourg
| | - Ilja Arts
- Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Rui Benfeitas
- National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (NBIS), Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Polonca Ferk
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Centre ELIXIR-SI, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Dirk Fey
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, 4, Ireland
| | - Carole Goble
- Department of Computer Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Martin Golebiewski
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies - HITS, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Kristina Gruden
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | | | - Henning Hermjakob
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Pascal Kahlem
- Scientific Network Management SL, Barcelona, 08015, Spain
| | - Maria I. Klapa
- Metabolic Engineering & Systems Biology Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras, 26504, Greece
| | - Jasper Koehorst
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708WE, The Netherlands
| | - Alexey Kolodkin
- Competence Center for Methodology and Statistics; Transversal Translational Medicine, Translational Medicine Operations Hub, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, L-1445, Luxembourg
- ISBE.NL, VU University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Martina Kutmon
- Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
- Department of Bioinformatics - BiGCaT, NUTRIM, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Brane Leskošek
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Centre ELIXIR-SI, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | | | - Wolfgang Müller
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies - HITS, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Marco Pagni
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tadeja Rezen
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Miguel Rocha
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Damjana Rozman
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - David Šafránek
- Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic
| | - William T. Scott
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708WE, The Netherlands
- UNLOCK, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rahuman S. Malik Sheriff
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Maria Suarez Diez
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708WE, The Netherlands
| | - Kristel Van Steen
- BIO3 - Laboratory for Systems Medicine, Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- BIO3 - Systems Genetics, GIGA-R Medical Genomics, University of Liege, Liege, 4000, Belgium
| | | | - Ulrike Wittig
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies - HITS, Heidelberg, 69118, Germany
| | - Katherine Wolstencroft
- Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333 CA, The Netherlands
| | - Anze Zupanic
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Chris T. Evelo
- Department of Bioinformatics - BiGCaT, NUTRIM, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - John M. Hancock
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
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Fitzpatrick R, Stefan MI. Validation Through Collaboration: Encouraging Team Efforts to Ensure Internal and External Validity of Computational Models of Biochemical Pathways. Neuroinformatics 2022; 20:277-284. [PMID: 35543917 PMCID: PMC9537119 DOI: 10.1007/s12021-022-09584-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Computational modelling of biochemical reaction pathways is an increasingly important part of neuroscience research. In order to be useful, computational models need to be valid in two senses: First, they need to be consistent with experimental data and able to make testable predictions (external validity). Second, they need to be internally consistent and independently reproducible (internal validity). Here, we discuss both types of validity and provide a brief overview of tools and technologies used to ensure they are met. We also suggest the introduction of new collaborative technologies to ensure model validity: an incentivised experimental database for external validity and reproducibility audits for internal validity. Both rely on FAIR principles and on collaborative science practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Fitzpatrick
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK ,School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Melanie I. Stefan
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK ,ZJU-UoE Institute, Zhejiang University, Haining, China
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7
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Schreiber F, Gleeson P, Golebiewski M, Gorochowski TE, Hucka M, Keating SM, König M, Myers CJ, Nickerson DP, Sommer B, Waltemath D. Specifications of standards in systems and synthetic biology: status and developments in 2021. J Integr Bioinform 2021; 18:jib-2021-0026. [PMID: 34674411 PMCID: PMC8573232 DOI: 10.1515/jib-2021-0026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
This special issue of the Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics contains updated specifications of COMBINE standards in systems and synthetic biology. The 2021 special issue presents four updates of standards: Synthetic Biology Open Language Visual Version 2.3, Synthetic Biology Open Language Visual Version 3.0, Simulation Experiment Description Markup Language Level 1 Version 4, and OMEX Metadata specification Version 1.2. This document can also be consulted to identify the latest specifications of all COMBINE standards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Falk Schreiber
- Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | | | - Martin Golebiewski
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Matthias König
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Chris J. Myers
- Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Eng., University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA
| | - David P. Nickerson
- Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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8
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Clark CJ, Scott-Brown J, Gorochowski TE. paraSBOLv: a foundation for standard-compliant genetic design visualization tools. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2021; 6:ysab022. [PMID: 34712845 PMCID: PMC8546602 DOI: 10.1093/synbio/ysab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Diagrams constructed from standardized glyphs are central to communicating complex design information in many engineering fields. For example, circuit diagrams are commonplace in electronics and allow for a suitable abstraction of the physical system that helps support the design process. With the development of the Synthetic Biology Open Language Visual (SBOLv), bioengineers are now positioned to better describe and share their biological designs visually. However, the development of computational tools to support the creation of these diagrams is currently hampered by an excessive burden in maintenance due to the large and expanding number of glyphs present in the standard. Here, we present a Python package called paraSBOLv that enables access to the full suite of SBOLv glyphs through the use of machine-readable parametric glyph definitions. These greatly simplify the rendering process while allowing extensive customization of the resulting diagrams. We demonstrate how the adoption of paraSBOLv can accelerate the development of highly specialized biodesign visualization tools or even form the basis for more complex software by removing the burden of maintaining glyph-specific rendering code. Looking forward, we suggest that incorporation of machine-readable parametric glyph definitions into the SBOLv standard could further simplify the development of tools to produce standard-compliant diagrams and the integration of visual standards across fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie J Clark
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - James Scott-Brown
- Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Thomas E Gorochowski
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- BrisSynBio, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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9
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Castle SD, Grierson CS, Gorochowski TE. Towards an engineering theory of evolution. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3326. [PMID: 34099656 PMCID: PMC8185075 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23573-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Biological technologies are fundamentally unlike any other because biology evolves. Bioengineering therefore requires novel design methodologies with evolution at their core. Knowledge about evolution is currently applied to the design of biosystems ad hoc. Unless we have an engineering theory of evolution, we will neither be able to meet evolution's potential as an engineering tool, nor understand or limit its unintended consequences for our biological designs. Here, we propose the evotype as a helpful concept for engineering the evolutionary potential of biosystems, or other self-adaptive technologies, potentially beyond the realm of biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simeon D Castle
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Claire S Grierson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- BrisSynBio, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Thomas E Gorochowski
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- BrisSynBio, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
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