Plant transport meets Synthetic Biology in Glasgow
Plant transport meets Synthetic Biology in Glasgow
By Freddie Theodoulou
Synthetic biologists, transport biochemists, biophysicists, modellers and geneticists hailing from four continents gathered at the University of Glasgow’s botany school for two inspiring days of science in the run-up to Christmas. The meeting kicked off with Hagen Bayley’s (Oxford) plenary talk on constructing tissue-like materials from networks of communicating droplets. Hagen showed how droplets can be endowed with biological functions such as energy storage and signal detection, inventively using 3D printing to generate networks with emergent properties.
This set the scene for several examples of synthetic transport biology in action. The first session introduced the concept of optogenetics- using light to control neurons- and its potential application to plants. John Christie’s (Glasgow) presentation on engineering phototropin activity elegantly combined mutagenesis and structure/function analysis to create light sensing modules for synthetic applications. An impressive example of their utility was provided by Anna Moroni (Milan) who successfully conferred light sensitivity on a potassium channel by fusion to the Arabidopsis phototropin LOV domain.
Photosynthetic engineering featured prominently in the pumps and transporters session. John Golbeck (Penn State) presented a fascinating talk on electrically conductive bacterial nanowires, a system with potential for linking photosynthetic cells to fuel cells. Alistair McCormick (Edinburgh) and Carla Minguet (Glasgow) then described different strategies using transporters to engineer plants with improved carbon capture mechanisms and the session finished with a talk on ABC transporters responsible for vacuolar auxin conjugate deposition by Rita de Brito Franscico (Zurich).
The afternoon covered techniques, with Sean Colloms’ (Glasgow) site-specific recombination toolkit for synthetic biology and Alex Costa’s (Milan) beautiful demonstration of how light-sheet microscopy can enhance the use of genetically-based calcium sensors. Throughout the meeting there were also several exciting advances in signalling mechanisms: Matt Gilliham (Adelaide) proposed a novel mechanism for GABA sensing in plants and new players in guard cell signalling featured in talks from Dirk Becker (Würtzburg), Jeff Leung (Gif-sur-Yvette) and Agniseszka Ludwikóv (Poznan). The broad range of talks was interspersed with two minute flash poster presentations which proved a great success, revealing the inventiveness of some early career delegates: Maria Papanatsiou rather memorably danced her guard cell project, competing with Tom Vincent’s wittily animated poster of calcium-mediated aphid stylet feeding for the most arresting presentation.
The first day concluded with a tribute to biophysicist, Alan Walker, who sadly died in July. Mary Beilby (New South Wales) and Dale Sanders (John Innes Centre) offered biophysical and biological perspectives, respectively, reflecting not only on Alan’s considerable scientific legacy but also painting a picture of a kind and visionary man and a life well lived. The final talk, given by Gerhard Thiel (Darmstadt) was very much in the spirit of Alan’s work: a hard-core biophysical treatment of action potentials in giant Characean algae which stimulated a lively discussion. Somewhere along the way, the laser pointer went missing and Gerhardt’s enthusiasm for his topic was expressed in Harry Potter-esque brandishing of a rather long cane. No actual bodily harm was done to people in the front row but I suspect the friendly arguments lasted well into the night.
On Sunday, we woke to a light snowfall and guard cell modelling: Mike Blatt’s (Glasgow) OnGuard simulation package built upon transport data was followed by Hugh Woolfenden (John Innes Centre) with a contrasting but potentially complementary mechanical model. With his characteristic panache, Andrew Millar (Edinburgh) drew published bespoke models together in an ambitious multiscale model which seeks ultimately to describe crop behaviour. Daniel Tran (Gif-sur-Yvette) then made light work of the usually tough job as last speaker, with an intriguing exploration of the role of mechanosensitive channels in oscillatory perception.
Wrapping up the meeting, Anna Amtmann (Glasgow) reflected on how far the field has come in a short time and how much potential is still to be explored with a truly multidisciplinary approach. As 600 Santas somewhat surreally dashed through the streets of downtown Glasgow, we headed home with plenty of ideas, new collaborations to pursue and very much looking forward to the next PTG meeting.