Synthetic Biology: Cyborg-ization of bacteria for degradation of pollutants - Victor de Lorenzo

https://www.ibiology.org/bioengineeri... In this talk, Dr. Victor de Lorenzo discusses applications of bacteria as whole-cell catalysts for decontamination and bioremediation. Dr. de Lorenzo shows that many bacteria can use pollutants as carbon sources, allowing them to decontaminate dangerous chemicals in the environment. He highlights one example of engineering the bacterium Pseudomonas putida, using a set of standardized tools, to metabolize 1,3-dichloropropene under anaerobic conditions; this project resulted in both enhanced natural capabilities and introduced novel functions to P. putida. Speaker Biography: Although trained as a chemist, Víctor de Lorenzo is now a Professor of Molecular Environmental Microbiology at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-CSIC. His lab uses Pseudomonas putida to recreate and build circuits for the sake of new-to-nature biological activities that will have an environmental impact by interacting with chemical waste. Dr. de Lorenzo is a member of the EMBO Council, the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) and the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM). He was the course director for the EMBO Synthetic Biology in Action Course and the EMBO/EMBL/iBiology online course in Synthetic Biology.