Alberto Scarampi | University of Cambridge (original) (raw)

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Papers by Alberto Scarampi

Research paper thumbnail of Rewiring photosynthetic electron transport chains for solar energy conversion

Nature Reviews Bioengineering

Photosynthetic organisms have evolved versatile electron transport chains that efficiently conver... more Photosynthetic organisms have evolved versatile electron transport chains that efficiently convert solar energy into chemical energy. Researchers can engineer these electron transport pathways to drive new-to-nature processes in a class of systems we term 'rewired photosynthetic electron transport chains' (R-PETCs). R-PETCs can be used for the light-driven production of electricity or chemicals and exhibit numerous advantages over the synthetic systems widely used for these applications, including enhanced stability, versatility and sustainability. In this Review, we summarize the current state of R-PETC research, highlighting major advances alongside outstanding research problems. We also provide descriptions of R-PETC development, outlining the different classes of R-PETCs, the research tools used in their construction and the key design considerations important for achieving high performances. Finally, we identify future avenues for R-PETC research that we expect will enhance performances sufficiently Nature Reviews Bioengineering Review article Key points • Photosynthetic organisms use solar energy to generate high-energy electrons through their photosynthetic electron transport chains. • Electrons from different photosynthetic electron transport chains can be rewired to new-to-nature pathways, creating biotechnologies for solar-powered electricity generation and chemical synthesis. • Rewiring can be achieved using various biological and artificial components, including electrodes, electron mediators, polymers, redox proteins, enzymes and other organisms. • This biological approach to solar energy conversion is versatile, sustainable and long-lasting, although further advances in performance are required to attain real-world applications.

Research paper thumbnail of Establishment of a novel set of vectors for transformation of the dinoflagellateAmphidinium carterae

Peridinin-containing dinoflagellate algae have a chloroplast genome formed from plasmid-like mini... more Peridinin-containing dinoflagellate algae have a chloroplast genome formed from plasmid-like minicircles. This fragmented genome has allowed us to develop a genetic modification methodology involving the use of biolistics to introduce artificial minicircles inAmphidinium carterae(Nimmo et al., 2019). The previously reported artificial minicircles were based on native minicircles containing either thepsbAoratpBgene. Each artificial minicircle allowed expression of a single selectable marker instead ofpsbAoratpB. Here, we present two further artificial minicircles for use in transformation ofA. carterae. One is based on thepetDminicircle, allowing the expression of a single selectable marker. The second is based on the two-gene minicircle originally containingatpAandpetB, and allows the dual expression of a selectable marker and a gene of interest. Our research suggest that all of the 20 or so minicircles inA. carteraeare suitable for adaptation as artificial minicircles, allowing for...

Research paper thumbnail of Powering a microprocessor by photosynthesis

Energy & Environmental Science

A photosynthesis-driven biophotovoltaic system with an Al-anode powered a microprocessor widely u... more A photosynthesis-driven biophotovoltaic system with an Al-anode powered a microprocessor widely used in IoT applications stably for over six months.

Research paper thumbnail of Synthetic biology and bioelectrochemical tools for electrogenetic system engineering

Science Advances

Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on deterministic spatiotemporal c... more Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on deterministic spatiotemporal control of gene expression. Recently, electrochemical control of gene expression has been demonstrated in electrogenetic systems (redox-responsive promoters used alongside redox inducers and electrodes), allowing for the direct integration of electronics with biological processes. However, the use of electrogenetic systems is limited by poor activity, tunability, and standardization. In this work, we developed a strong, unidirectional, redox-responsive promoter before deriving a mutant promoter library with a spectrum of strengths. We constructed genetic circuits with these parts and demonstrated their activation by multiple classes of redox molecules. Last, we demonstrated electrochemical activation of gene expression under aerobic conditions using a novel, modular bioelectrochemical device. These genetic and electrochemical tools facilitate the design and improve the performance of elec...

Research paper thumbnail of A modular toolset for electrogenetics

Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on the deterministic spatiotempor... more Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on the deterministic spatiotemporal control of gene expression. Recently, electrochemical control of gene expression has been demonstrated in electrogenetic systems (redox-responsive promoters used alongside redox inducers and an electrode), allowing for the direct integration of electronics with complex biological processes for a variety of new applications. However, the use of electrogenetic systems is limited by poor activity, tunability and standardisation. Here, we have developed a variety of genetic and electrochemical tools that facilitate the design and vastly improve the performance of electrogenetic systems. We developed a strong, unidirectional, redox-responsive promoter before deriving a mutant promoter library with a spectrum of strengths. We then constructed genetic circuits with these parts and demonstrated their activation by multiple classes of redox molecules. Finally, we demonstrated electrochemical a...

Research paper thumbnail of The Paradox of the Plankton: Coexistence of Structured Microbial Communities

In the framework of resource-competition models, it has been argued that the number of species st... more In the framework of resource-competition models, it has been argued that the number of species stably coexisting in an ecosystem cannot exceed the number of shared resources. However, plankton seems to be an exception of this so-called “competitive-exclusion principle”. In planktic ecosystems, a large number of different species stably coexist in an environment with limited resources. This contradiction between theoretical expectations and empirical observations is often referred to as “The Paradox of the Plankton”. This project aims to investigate biophysical models that can account for the large biodiversity observed in real ecosystems in order to resolve this paradox. A model is proposed that combines classical resource competition models, metabolic trade-offs and stochastic ecosystem assembly. Simulations of the model match empirical observations, while relaxing some unrealistic assumptions from previous models.Paradox: from Greek para: “distinct from”, and doxa: opinion. Sainsb...

Research paper thumbnail of Rewiring photosynthetic electron transport chains for solar energy conversion

Nature Reviews Bioengineering

Photosynthetic organisms have evolved versatile electron transport chains that efficiently conver... more Photosynthetic organisms have evolved versatile electron transport chains that efficiently convert solar energy into chemical energy. Researchers can engineer these electron transport pathways to drive new-to-nature processes in a class of systems we term 'rewired photosynthetic electron transport chains' (R-PETCs). R-PETCs can be used for the light-driven production of electricity or chemicals and exhibit numerous advantages over the synthetic systems widely used for these applications, including enhanced stability, versatility and sustainability. In this Review, we summarize the current state of R-PETC research, highlighting major advances alongside outstanding research problems. We also provide descriptions of R-PETC development, outlining the different classes of R-PETCs, the research tools used in their construction and the key design considerations important for achieving high performances. Finally, we identify future avenues for R-PETC research that we expect will enhance performances sufficiently Nature Reviews Bioengineering Review article Key points • Photosynthetic organisms use solar energy to generate high-energy electrons through their photosynthetic electron transport chains. • Electrons from different photosynthetic electron transport chains can be rewired to new-to-nature pathways, creating biotechnologies for solar-powered electricity generation and chemical synthesis. • Rewiring can be achieved using various biological and artificial components, including electrodes, electron mediators, polymers, redox proteins, enzymes and other organisms. • This biological approach to solar energy conversion is versatile, sustainable and long-lasting, although further advances in performance are required to attain real-world applications.

Research paper thumbnail of Establishment of a novel set of vectors for transformation of the dinoflagellateAmphidinium carterae

Peridinin-containing dinoflagellate algae have a chloroplast genome formed from plasmid-like mini... more Peridinin-containing dinoflagellate algae have a chloroplast genome formed from plasmid-like minicircles. This fragmented genome has allowed us to develop a genetic modification methodology involving the use of biolistics to introduce artificial minicircles inAmphidinium carterae(Nimmo et al., 2019). The previously reported artificial minicircles were based on native minicircles containing either thepsbAoratpBgene. Each artificial minicircle allowed expression of a single selectable marker instead ofpsbAoratpB. Here, we present two further artificial minicircles for use in transformation ofA. carterae. One is based on thepetDminicircle, allowing the expression of a single selectable marker. The second is based on the two-gene minicircle originally containingatpAandpetB, and allows the dual expression of a selectable marker and a gene of interest. Our research suggest that all of the 20 or so minicircles inA. carteraeare suitable for adaptation as artificial minicircles, allowing for...

Research paper thumbnail of Powering a microprocessor by photosynthesis

Energy & Environmental Science

A photosynthesis-driven biophotovoltaic system with an Al-anode powered a microprocessor widely u... more A photosynthesis-driven biophotovoltaic system with an Al-anode powered a microprocessor widely used in IoT applications stably for over six months.

Research paper thumbnail of Synthetic biology and bioelectrochemical tools for electrogenetic system engineering

Science Advances

Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on deterministic spatiotemporal c... more Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on deterministic spatiotemporal control of gene expression. Recently, electrochemical control of gene expression has been demonstrated in electrogenetic systems (redox-responsive promoters used alongside redox inducers and electrodes), allowing for the direct integration of electronics with biological processes. However, the use of electrogenetic systems is limited by poor activity, tunability, and standardization. In this work, we developed a strong, unidirectional, redox-responsive promoter before deriving a mutant promoter library with a spectrum of strengths. We constructed genetic circuits with these parts and demonstrated their activation by multiple classes of redox molecules. Last, we demonstrated electrochemical activation of gene expression under aerobic conditions using a novel, modular bioelectrochemical device. These genetic and electrochemical tools facilitate the design and improve the performance of elec...

Research paper thumbnail of A modular toolset for electrogenetics

Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on the deterministic spatiotempor... more Synthetic biology research and its industrial applications rely on the deterministic spatiotemporal control of gene expression. Recently, electrochemical control of gene expression has been demonstrated in electrogenetic systems (redox-responsive promoters used alongside redox inducers and an electrode), allowing for the direct integration of electronics with complex biological processes for a variety of new applications. However, the use of electrogenetic systems is limited by poor activity, tunability and standardisation. Here, we have developed a variety of genetic and electrochemical tools that facilitate the design and vastly improve the performance of electrogenetic systems. We developed a strong, unidirectional, redox-responsive promoter before deriving a mutant promoter library with a spectrum of strengths. We then constructed genetic circuits with these parts and demonstrated their activation by multiple classes of redox molecules. Finally, we demonstrated electrochemical a...

Research paper thumbnail of The Paradox of the Plankton: Coexistence of Structured Microbial Communities

In the framework of resource-competition models, it has been argued that the number of species st... more In the framework of resource-competition models, it has been argued that the number of species stably coexisting in an ecosystem cannot exceed the number of shared resources. However, plankton seems to be an exception of this so-called “competitive-exclusion principle”. In planktic ecosystems, a large number of different species stably coexist in an environment with limited resources. This contradiction between theoretical expectations and empirical observations is often referred to as “The Paradox of the Plankton”. This project aims to investigate biophysical models that can account for the large biodiversity observed in real ecosystems in order to resolve this paradox. A model is proposed that combines classical resource competition models, metabolic trade-offs and stochastic ecosystem assembly. Simulations of the model match empirical observations, while relaxing some unrealistic assumptions from previous models.Paradox: from Greek para: “distinct from”, and doxa: opinion. Sainsb...