Over five million people worldwide die from vector-borne diseases every year. Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and Zika, are pathogens that can be transmitted through the bite of an insect. Though vaccines for some of these illnesses are in development, current prevention options are very effective.To address this issue, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking at synthetic biology as a method to find an easy to use, cost-effective solution.In a recent announcement, DARPA awarded Ginkgo Bioworks, Azitra, Latham BioPharm Group, and Florida International University (FIU) a contract of up to $15 million to create a novel, long-lasting mosquito repellent using engineered microbes. This partnership is a part of DARPA’s ReVector program that supports groundbreaking technologies to protect US troops from mosquito-borne illnesses.
This map shows how many of the 6 most common vector-borne diseases could potentially affect populations in 5 square kilometers sections. Tropical regions like South Africa, Western Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia are particularly vulnerable. RESEARCHGATEInfections like malaria are not commonplace in temperate regions like the United States. High mosquito populations—and therefore higher instances of disease—are more common in tropical and subtropical regions. However, many US troops operate in these hotbed locations, hence DARPA’s motivation for the project.Currently, all available mosquito repellents fall short in providing long-lasting, effective protection. They require an application to the skin every few hours and are impractical for use in the field. ReVector’s new project hopes their microbe-based solution will protect against mosquito bites for at least two weeks, skipping the need for continuous reapplication.
As a field, synthetic biology is well placed to develop a novel, bio-based approach to disease prevention. One of the biggest sectors of biotech innovation is microbe engineering. By modifying a microbe’s tiny cellular factories, research teams can genetically engineer organisms to produce a wide range of materials. Using computing and big data, synthetic biologists can rapidly prototype and iterate on different solutions to produce the desired molecule.Ginkgo Bioworks will take the lead as the primary contractor for the project. Ginkgo is well known in the synthetic biology industry and beyond for providing biotech infrastructure as a service—similar to Amazon Web Services but for biology. Rather than producing the final products itself, Ginkgo designs and engineers microbes for a wide range of customer needs. For this project, Ginkgo will leverage their organism foundries—the company’s automated platforms for microbe design and validation—to engineer microorganisms found on human skin.
Zach Smith, Director of Government Business at Ginkgo Bioworks, the leading contractor in DARPA’s ReVector program initiative. GINKGO BIOWORKSThe human skin microbiome is a diverse neighborhood of microorganisms that protect against dermatological diseases. Each microorganism occupies a wide range of skin niches and plays a specific role in educating the billions of skin cells on how to respond to pathogenic outsiders.Zach Smith, Director of Government Business at Ginkgo Bioworks, gave insights into the project’s approach. “There are two ways to deal with mosquitoes, you can repel them or you can isolate the signals humans give off to attract mosquitoes and weaken them. We are planning to do both,” says Smith.Using high throughput testing, Ginkgo aims to rapidly discover the best combination of engineered microbial compounds to produce a Live Biotherapeutic Product (LBP). But, even with an LBP, humans still naturally produce byproducts that attract insects.Humans give off heat, carbon dioxide, and certain chemical elements and compounds called volatiles that vaporize rapidly off the skin. If the compounds remain volatile, the repellent would only diminish the number of mosquitoes a person attracts rather than deterring them entirely. However, if these volatile compounds can be identified, the project team could produce a repellent with additional properties that prevent these compounds from vaporizing in the first place.
In the initial research phase of the project, Ginkgo plans to collaborate with top mosquito researcher and neurogeneticist Matthew DeGennaro, Ph.D., of FIU’s Biomolecular Sciences Institute. As an expert in molecular genetics and the odor attraction profile of mosquitoes, DeGennaro can provide unique insights into the molecular compounds needed to repel mosquitoes long-term.
Matthew DeGenarro, Ph.D., of Florida International University will provide key neurogenetic insights to the ReVector project. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Over five million people worldwide die from vector-borne diseases every year. Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and Zika, are pathogens that can be transmitted through the bite of an insect. Though vaccines for some of these illnesses are in development, current prevention options are very effective.To address this issue, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking at synthetic biology as a method to find an easy to use, cost-effective solution.In a recent announcement, DARPA awarded Ginkgo Bioworks, Azitra, Latham BioPharm Group, and Florida International University (FIU) a contract of up to $15 million to create a novel, long-lasting mosquito repellent using engineered microbes. This partnership is a part of DARPA’s ReVector program that supports groundbreaking technologies to protect US troops from mosquito-borne illnesses.
This map shows how many of the 6 most common vector-borne diseases could potentially affect populations in 5 square kilometers sections. Tropical regions like South Africa, Western Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia are particularly vulnerable. RESEARCHGATEInfections like malaria are not commonplace in temperate regions like the United States. High mosquito populations—and therefore higher instances of disease—are more common in tropical and subtropical regions. However, many US troops operate in these hotbed locations, hence DARPA’s motivation for the project.Currently, all available mosquito repellents fall short in providing long-lasting, effective protection. They require an application to the skin every few hours and are impractical for use in the field. ReVector’s new project hopes their microbe-based solution will protect against mosquito bites for at least two weeks, skipping the need for continuous reapplication.
As a field, synthetic biology is well placed to develop a novel, bio-based approach to disease prevention. One of the biggest sectors of biotech innovation is microbe engineering. By modifying a microbe’s tiny cellular factories, research teams can genetically engineer organisms to produce a wide range of materials. Using computing and big data, synthetic biologists can rapidly prototype and iterate on different solutions to produce the desired molecule.Ginkgo Bioworks will take the lead as the primary contractor for the project. Ginkgo is well known in the synthetic biology industry and beyond for providing biotech infrastructure as a service—similar to Amazon Web Services but for biology. Rather than producing the final products itself, Ginkgo designs and engineers microbes for a wide range of customer needs. For this project, Ginkgo will leverage their organism foundries—the company’s automated platforms for microbe design and validation—to engineer microorganisms found on human skin.
Zach Smith, Director of Government Business at Ginkgo Bioworks, the leading contractor in DARPA’s ReVector program initiative. GINKGO BIOWORKSThe human skin microbiome is a diverse neighborhood of microorganisms that protect against dermatological diseases. Each microorganism occupies a wide range of skin niches and plays a specific role in educating the billions of skin cells on how to respond to pathogenic outsiders.Zach Smith, Director of Government Business at Ginkgo Bioworks, gave insights into the project’s approach. “There are two ways to deal with mosquitoes, you can repel them or you can isolate the signals humans give off to attract mosquitoes and weaken them. We are planning to do both,” says Smith.Using high throughput testing, Ginkgo aims to rapidly discover the best combination of engineered microbial compounds to produce a Live Biotherapeutic Product (LBP). But, even with an LBP, humans still naturally produce byproducts that attract insects.Humans give off heat, carbon dioxide, and certain chemical elements and compounds called volatiles that vaporize rapidly off the skin. If the compounds remain volatile, the repellent would only diminish the number of mosquitoes a person attracts rather than deterring them entirely. However, if these volatile compounds can be identified, the project team could produce a repellent with additional properties that prevent these compounds from vaporizing in the first place.
In the initial research phase of the project, Ginkgo plans to collaborate with top mosquito researcher and neurogeneticist Matthew DeGennaro, Ph.D., of FIU’s Biomolecular Sciences Institute. As an expert in molecular genetics and the odor attraction profile of mosquitoes, DeGennaro can provide unique insights into the molecular compounds needed to repel mosquitoes long-term.
Matthew DeGenarro, Ph.D., of Florida International University will provide key neurogenetic insights to the ReVector project. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY