In November 2017, the British Internet publication The Independent published an article on the new synthetic biology program of the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Advanced Plant Technologies (APT). The military department plans to create genetically modified algae that can act as self-sustaining sensors to collect information in conditions where the use of traditional technologies is impossible. How realistic is this and how does it threaten humanity?
It is assumed that the natural capabilities of plants can be used to detect relevant chemicals, harmful microorganisms, radiation and electromagnetic signals. At the same time, changing their genome will allow the military to control the state of the environment and not only. This, in turn, will make it possible to remotely monitor the reaction of plants using existing technical means.
Obedient viruses
According to Blake Bextine, APT Program Manager, DARPA's goal in this case is to develop an efficient reusable system for designing, directly creating and testing various biological platforms with highly adaptable capabilities that can be applied to a wide range of scenarios.
Let's pay tribute to American scientists and the US military department, which actively promotes the development of synthetic biology. At the same time, we note that the significant progress of recent years, the expected results of which should be aimed at the benefit of mankind, has created a completely new problem, the consequences of which are unpredictable and unpredictable. It turns out that the United States now has the technical ability to design artificial (synthetic) microorganisms that are absent in natural conditions. This means that we are talking about a new generation of biological weapons (BW).
If you recall, in the last century, intensive US research on the development of BW was aimed both at obtaining strains of causative agents of dangerous infectious diseases in humans with altered properties (overcoming specific immunity, polyantibiotic resistance, increasing pathogenicity), and at developing means of their identification and protection measures. As a result, the methods of indication and identification of genetically modified microorganisms have been improved. Schemes for the prevention and treatment of infections caused by natural and modified forms of bacteria have been developed.
The first experiments on the use of techniques and technologies of recombinant DNA were carried out back in the 70s and were devoted to modifying the genetic code of natural strains by including single genes in their genome that could change the properties of bacteria. This opened up opportunities for scientists to solve such important problems as the production of biofuels, bacterial electricity, drugs, diagnostic drugs and multi-diagnostic platforms, synthetic vaccines, etc. An example of the successful implementation of such goals is the creation of a bacterium containing recombinant DNA and producing synthetic insulin …
But there is also another side. In 2002, viable polioviruses were artificially synthesized, including those similar to the pathogen of the Spanish flu, which claimed tens of millions of lives in 1918. Although attempts are being made to create effective vaccines based on such artificial strains.
In 2007, scientists from the J. Craig Venter Research Institute (JCVI, USA) were for the first time able to transport the whole genome of one bacterial species (Mycoplasma mycoides) to another (Mycoplasma capricolum) and proved the viability of a new microorganism. To determine the synthetic origin of such bacteria, markers are usually introduced into their genome, the so-called watermarks.
Synthetic biology is an intensively developing area, representing a qualitatively new step in the development of genetic engineering. From the transfer of several genes between organisms to the design and construction of unique biological systems that do not exist in nature with "programmed" functions and properties. Moreover, genomic sequencing and the creation of databases of complete genomes of various microorganisms will make it possible to develop modern strategies for DNA synthesis of any microbe in the laboratory.
As you know, DNA consists of four bases, the sequence and composition of which determine the biological properties of living organisms. Modern science allows the introduction of "unnatural" bases into the synthetic genome, the functioning of which in the cell is very difficult to program in advance. And such experiments on "insertion" into the artificial genome of unknown DNA sequences with unknown functions are already being carried out abroad. In the USA, Great Britain and Japan, multidisciplinary centers dealing with synthetic biology have been established; researchers of various specialties work there.
At the same time, it is obvious that the use of modern methodological techniques increases the likelihood of "accidental" or deliberate production of chimeric agents of biological weapons unknown to mankind with a completely new set of pathogenicity factors. In this regard, an important aspect arises - ensuring the biological safety of such studies. According to a number of specialists, synthetic biology belongs to the field of activity with high risks associated with the construction of new viable microorganisms. It cannot be ruled out that life forms created in the laboratory can escape from the test tube, turn into biological weapons, and this will threaten the existing natural diversity.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that, unfortunately, another important problem has not been reflected in publications on synthetic biology, namely, the preservation of the stability of the artificially created bacterial genome. Microbiologists are well aware of the phenomenon of spontaneous mutations due to a change or loss (deletion) of a gene in the genome of bacteria and viruses, which lead to a change in the properties of the cell. However, under natural conditions, the frequency of occurrence of such mutations is low and the genome of microorganisms is characterized by relative stability.
The evolutionary process has shaped the diversity of the microbial world for millennia. Today, the entire classification of families, genera and species of bacteria and viruses is based on the stability of genetic sequences, which allows their identification and determines specific biological properties. They were the starting point for the creation of such modern diagnostic methods as the determination of protein or fatty acid profiles of microorganisms using MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry or chromo-mass spectrometry, the identification of DNA sequences specific to each microbe using PCR analysis, etc. At the same time, the stability of the synthetic genome of "chimeric" microbes is currently unknown, and it is impossible to predict how much we were able to "deceive" nature and evolution. Therefore, it is very difficult to predict the consequences of accidental or deliberate penetration of such artificial microorganisms outside the laboratory. Even with the "harmlessness" of the created microbe, its release "into the light" with conditions completely different from the laboratory can lead to increased mutability and the formation of new variants with unknown, possibly aggressive properties. A vivid illustration of this position is the creation of an artificial bacterium cynthia.
Death on the bottle
Cynthia (Mycoplasma laboratorium) is a laboratory-derived synthetic strain of mycoplasma. It is capable of independent reproduction and was intended, according to foreign media reports, to eliminate the consequences of the oil disaster in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico by absorbing pollution.
In 2011, bacteria were launched into the oceans to destroy oil spills that pose a threat to the Earth's ecology. This rash and poorly calculated decision soon turned into dire consequences - the microorganisms got out of control. There were reports of a terrible disease, called by journalists the blue plague and causing the extinction of fauna in the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, all publications that caused the panic of the population belong to the periodicals, while scientific publications prefer to remain silent. Currently, there is no direct scientific evidence (or they are deliberately hidden) that the unknown fatal disease is caused by Cynthia. However, there is no smoke without fire, therefore the stated versions of the ecological catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico require close attention and study.
It is assumed that in the process of absorbing petroleum products, cynthia changed and expanded nutritional requirements by including animal proteins in the "diet". Getting into microscopic wounds on the body of fish and other marine animals, it spreads through the bloodstream to all organs and systems, literally corroding everything in its path in a short time. In just a few days, the skin of the seals is covered with ulcers, constantly bleeding, and then completely rotted. Alas, there have been reports of fatal cases of the disease (with the same symptom complex) and people swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
An essential point is the fact that in the case of synthia, the disease cannot be treated with known antibiotics, since, in addition to “watermarks”, genes for resistance to antibacterial drugs were introduced into the bacterial genome. The latter raises questions and surprises. Why does the original saprophytic microbe, incapable of causing diseases in humans and animals, need antibiotic resistance genes?
In this regard, the silence of the officials and authors of this infection looks at least strange. According to some experts, there is a concealment of the true scale of the tragedy at the government level. It is also suggested that in the case of the use of synthia, we are talking about the use of bacteriological weapons of a wide spectrum of action, which poses a threat of the emergence of an intercontinental epidemic. At the same time, in order to dispel panic and rumors, the United States has the entire arsenal of modern methods for identifying microorganisms, and it is not difficult to determine the etiological agent of this unknown infection. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this is the result of the direct effect of oil on a living organism, although the symptoms of the disease more indicate its infectious nature. Nevertheless, the question, we repeat, requires clarity.
Natural concern about the uncontrolled research of many Russian and foreign scientists. To reduce the risk, several directions are proposed - the introduction of personal responsibility for developments with non-programmable results, an increase in scientific literacy at the level of professional training, and broad public awareness of the achievements of synthetic biology through the media. But is the community ready to follow these rules? For example, taking anthrax spores out of a US laboratory and sending them in envelopes casts doubt on the effectiveness of control. Moreover, taking into account modern possibilities, the availability of databases of genetic sequences of bacteria, including causative agents of especially dangerous infections, DNA synthesis techniques, methods of creating artificial microbes, is facilitated. It is impossible to exclude obtaining unauthorized access to this information by hackers with the subsequent sale to interested parties.
As the experience of "launch" into natural conditions of Cynthia shows, all the proposed measures are ineffective and do not guarantee the biological safety of the environment. In addition, it cannot be ruled out that there may be long-term ecological consequences of the introduction of an artificial microorganism into nature.
The proposed control measures - widespread media awareness and increased ethical responsibility of researchers in the creation of artificial forms of microorganisms - are not yet encouraging. The most effective is the legal regulation of the biological safety of synthetic life forms and the system of their monitoring at the international and national levels according to the new risk assessment system, which should include a comprehensive, experimental evidence-based study of the consequences in the field of synthetic biology. A possible solution could also be the creation of an international expert council to assess the risks of using its products.
Analysis shows that science has reached completely new frontiers and posed unexpected problems. Until now, schemes for the indication and identification of dangerous agents have been aimed at their detection based on the identification of specific antigenic or genetic markers. But when creating chimeric microorganisms with different pathogenic factors, these approaches are ineffective.
Moreover, the currently developed schemes of specific and emergency prophylaxis, etiotropic therapy of dangerous infections may also turn out to be useless, since they are calculated, even in the case of using modified options, for a known pathogen.
Humanity, unknowingly, has entered the path of biological warfare with unknown consequences. There may not be any winners in this war.
