Engineered fluoride sensitivity enables biocontainment and selection of genetically-modified yeasts.

ABSTRACT: Biocontainment systems are needed to neutralize genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that pose ecological threats outside of controlled environments. In contrast, benign selection markers complement GMOs with reduced fitness. Benign selection agents serve as alternatives to antibiotics, which are costly and risk spread of antibiotic resistance. Here, we present a yeast biocontainment strategy leveraging engineered fluoride sensitivity and DNA vectors enabling use of fluoride as a selection agent. The biocontainment system addresses the scarcity of platforms available for yeast despite their prevalent use in industry and academia. In the absence of fluoride, the biocontainment strain exhibits phenotypes nearly identical to those of the wildtype strain. Low fluoride concentrations severely

SUBMITTER: Yoo JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7596524 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature