New biotech tool locks valuable DNA with a genetic passcode
Genome editing has revolutionized biotechnology, with many new products made from genetically engineered cells every year. These engineered cells are incredibly valuable, and increasingly vulnerable to industrial theft or espionage. Protecting engineered cell lines has become critically important to the biotechnology industry and national security. To tackle this challenge, researchers supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) designed a new biological security technology, known as GeneLockTM.
GeneLock is a cybersecurity-inspired technology that protects valuable genetic material at the DNA level using an engineered passcode, similar to how a digital passcode provides access to an ATM or a protected cell phone.
The GeneLock passcode is part of a two-part biosecurity system. The first part is the engineered DNA, which is genetically scrambled and thus non-functional. The second part is the passcode, a chemical input required to unscramble the DNA. Without the passcode, the engineered DNA will not function, making the engineered cells useless to an unauthorized user.
“A crucial aspect to any good, uncrackable passcode is having an enormous number of possible combinations,” said Clifford Weil, NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences Program Director. “By combining the huge variation possible in DNA with many small chemical molecules and testing the system in this way, the work is both innovative and of vital interest to the security of biotechnologies at many levels.”
The global market for high-value genetic materials is estimated at more than $1.5 trillion annually, underscoring the need to protect these assets. The GeneLock technology could become an integral biosecurity measure to protect high-value cells used in the manufacturing of protein-based drugs, specialty chemicals, bioplastics, and more.