Team:UANL Mty-Mexico/Entrepreneurial Interview

As part of our HP, we contact two experts in the biotechnology field, working in different enterprises, and did them an interview about the processes their enterprises develop, and the way synthetic biology could help them. This activity was done in order to show the great impact the synthetic biology could have in the business area, and also the help that different biologic projects can give to the society and technology.

BioLets – Biofuel

Questions:

1. What’s the name of your enterprise and what do you do in it?
The enterprise I work in is called BioLets, and we dedicate to the production if biofuels from microalgae.

2. You, as a knower of the synthetic biology, ¿what function do you develop inside the enterprise?
I’m one of the persons in charge of an investigation and synthetic biology lab, as also from one pilot plant for the reproduction of microalgae. My job concerns a wide spectrum of labors, including administrative, commercial, and innovative-development work; this last one is the one that more encloses my relation with my professional formation as biotechnologist.

3. Which applications of synthetic biology have you found inside your enterprise?
In my opinion, I think is the approach to biological problems. Synthetic biology teach me the importance of concepts as standardization, modulation, modeling and abstraction, as today I try to applied them in the resolution of the problems I deal with. In this way, I believe that the engineering principles get close to biology in more forms that I imagined, it is not only about the modification of organism, but also we search for the development of projects more trustable, secures and profitable. In the other hand, in the lines of investigation of our enterprise, we are exploring approaches to metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, to improve the bioprocesses done by microalgae.

4. Are you aware of the function and application of the Thermocoli project developed by the IGEM – UANL team?
Yes I have heard a little of it. I tend to follow, even from far the works that develop in my university, especially of the IGEM team I once form. Themocoli is principally base on a genetic circuit that allows bacteria to produce a number of wanted proteins regulated by different temperatures. It means to introduce to the organism a signal of temperature and obtain the production of certain protein according to the established temperature.

5. Is temperature an important factor in the processes developed inside your enterprise?
Of course. We work with microorganisms that require optimal growing conditions to develop the process we are looking.

6. It will be useful to your enterprise the use of the Thermocoli project from the IGEM – UANL team?
I think the developments of this type will be very interesting in projects of our enterprise. The use of different cellular regulation circuits always give a big advantage as they give more control to the duties microorganism do, and that’s why I consider that temperature regulator can play a key factor in the production of biofuels from microalgae.

7. In which way will the performance of your enterprise improve with the use of the Thermocoli project?
Probably it will be an approach under the mechanism of biosensors, in a way that microalgae can detect changes in temperature and realize a specific function in such situation.

8. Do you think that the creation of synthetic biology projects help to improve the processes in the different enterprises?
Definitely. Synthetic biology is offering a wide spectrum of development for enterprises projects and, besides commonly they are not accepting develop this type of work to an industrial production level, it is necessary to remember that it is the goal of the investigation: improve the quality of life of human beings by the creation of new technologies.

9. Would you open the doors to more synthetic biology projects after seen the Thermocoli project?
Of course, we are always open to the development of new projects and we are very interested in the generation of technology with the higher quality standards and economic feasibility. We would be glad to work with brilliant people like the ones we found in the IGEM competitions.

10. Have you seen other improvements in enterprises thanks to the synthetic biology?
In Mexico, I believe still no, and in the rest of the world I haven’t heard of this type of development besides the ones generated by the big synthetic biology enterprises like the one of J. Craig Venter. From my perspective, I think that this is because the biotechnology has a lot to give in the present, making the solutions to base on this more “classic” type of tools, however the tendencies of the market point that in a near future it will be require better biological processes, more efficient, more standardized, of lower risk, which can be made with the tools of synthetic biology, which is why we have to be very aware to the requirements that society demands today to the investigators, always willing to give knowledge to the solution of problems. In word of Steve Jobs: “ stay hunger, stay foolish”.

CEMEX – Bacteria and cement

Questions:

1. What’s the name of your enterprise and what do you do in it?
CEMEX in biotechnology applying materials of construction.

2. You, as a knower of the synthetic biology, ¿what function do you develop inside the enterprise?
Represent a useful option to the development of new technologies capable of offering new solutions to the problems related to the construction.

3. Which applications of synthetic biology have you found inside your enterprise?
Until now, they have not been applied directly.

4. Are you aware of the function and application of the Thermocoli project developed by the IGEM – UANL team?
Until now, I haven’t heard of the project. Themocoli is principally base on a genetic circuit that allows bacteria to produce a number of wanted proteins regulated by different temperatures. It means to introduce to the organism a signal of temperature and obtain the production of certain protein according to the established temperature.

5. Is temperature an important factor in the processes developed inside your enterprise?
Construction materials are exposed to different temperatures during their processing and use, reason why this factor is of vital importance.

6. It will be useful to your enterprise the use of the Thermocoli project from the IGEM – UANL team?
After seeing the function, I think that it could be very useful for our applications.

7. In which way will the performance of your enterprise improve with the use of the Thermocoli project?
Through a sensor that allows us to know the temperature at which our element is expose.

8. Do you think that the creation of synthetic biology projects help to improve the processes in the different enterprises?
Definitely, the creation of biologic devices capable of realize new functions represent an option with great potential to the development of new technologies capable of being commercialized in the market.

9. Would you open the doors to more synthetic biology projects after seen the Thermocoli project?
Yes, after seeing the class of the projects they manage, definitely is something that seems interesting.

10. Have you seen other improvements in enterprises thanks to the synthetic biology?
At this moment, I don’t know any enterprise that handles this technology in our country.

In this two interviews it was shown the improvements the synthetic biology can give to all the different areas of business and technology, and also the new solutions it can give to the society problems.