Perspectives for self-driving labs in synthetic biology.

Journal: Current opinion in biotechnology
Published Date: Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

Self-driving labs (SDLs) combine fully automated experiments with artificial intelligence (AI) that decides the next set of experiments. Taken to their ultimate expression, SDLs could usher a new paradigm of scientific research, where the world is probed, interpreted, and explained by machines for human benefit. While there are functioning SDLs in the fields of chemistry and materials science, we contend that synthetic biology provides a unique opportunity since the genome provides a single target for affecting the incredibly wide repertoire of biological cell behavior. However, the level of investment required for the creation of biological SDLs is only warranted if directed toward solving difficult and enabling biological questions. Here, we discuss challenges and opportunities in creating SDLs for synthetic biology.

Authors

  • Hector G Martin
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Department of Energy, Agile BioFoundry, Emeryville, CA, United States; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States; BCAM, Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Bilbao, Spain. Electronic address: hgmartin@lbl.gov.
  • Tijana Radivojević
    DOE Agile BioFoundry, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA.
  • Jeremy Zucker
    Earth and Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, Richland, WA, United States.
  • Kristofer Bouchard
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Scientific Data Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Berkeley, CA, United States.
  • Jess Sustarich
    Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States; Biomaterials and Biomanufacturing Division, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, United States.
  • Sean Peisert
    Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
  • Dan Arnold
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division, Berkeley, CA, United States.
  • Nathan Hillson
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Department of Energy, Agile BioFoundry, Emeryville, CA, United States; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States.
  • Gyorgy Babnigg
    Department of Energy, Agile BioFoundry, Emeryville, CA, United States; Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, United States.
  • Jose M Marti
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Department of Energy, Agile BioFoundry, Emeryville, CA, United States; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States; Global Security Computing Applications Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, United States.
  • Christopher J Mungall
    Genomics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
  • Gregg T Beckham
    National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
  • Lucas Waldburger
    Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States.
  • James Carothers
    Department of Chemical Engineering, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute and Center for Synthetic Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.
  • ShivShankar Sundaram
    Engineering Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, United States; Center for Bioengineering, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, United States.
  • Deb Agarwal
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Scientific Data Division, Berkeley, CA, United States.
  • Blake A Simmons
    Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA; DOE Agile BioFoundry, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA.
  • Tyler Backman
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States.
  • Deepanwita Banerjee
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Berkeley, CA, United States; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States.
  • Deepti Tanjore
    Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA.
  • Lavanya Ramakrishnan
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Scientific Data Division, Berkeley, CA, United States.
  • Anup Singh
    Centre for Biomedical Engineering, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India; Department of Biomedical Engineering, AIIMS Delhi, New Delhi, India. Electronic address: anupsm@iitd.ac.in.

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