{"id":"CU26019","slug":"genetic-elements-to--CU26019","source":{"id":"CU26019","dataset":"techtransfer","title":"Genetic elements to bioengineer acidophiles","description_":"<p>This technology is a retron-based genetic engineering platform for <i>Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans </i>to enable targeted genome edits for improved bioleaching and biomining performance.</p>\r\r<h2>Unmet Need: Efficient genetic tools for engineering acidophile bioleaching technologies</h2>\r\r<p>Current methods for engineering bioleaching microbes rely on genetic toolkits developed for model, neutral-pH organisms (e.g., <i> E. coli</i>) and are adapted case-by-case to acidophiles like <i> Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans </i>. Under extremely acidic, metal-rich conditions, DNA delivery and stable integration are inefficient, and there are few reliable strong promoters, selection markers, and reporter systems. These limitations prevent precise control and optimization of key bioleaching pathways. Robust, standardized genetic engineering tools tailored to acidophiles are thus needed to enable faster, more reliable development of high-performing bioleaching strains.</p>\r\r<h2>The Technology: Retron-based efficient acidophile editing for enhanced bioleaching</h2>\r\r<p>This technology is a retron-based genetic engineering approach to introduce targeted edits in <i> Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans </i>, driven by an inducible expression system with a GFP readout. Key retron components are evaluated and tuned in <i> E. coli </i>to identify configurations that support reliable expression, regulation, and editing before transfer into the acidophile host. The approach is applied to modify a sulfur-metabolism–related target (e.g., petA2) to enable strain optimization under bioleaching-relevant conditions and is positioned for future compatibility with CRISPR/Cas and retron library recombineering in additional acidophiles.</p>\r\r<p>This technology has been validated using <i> Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans </i> strains.</p>\r\r<h2>Applications:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li>Industrial biomining</li>\r<li>Metal bioleaching/biorecovery</li>\r<li>Acidophile genetic engineering platform</li>\r</ul>\r\r<h2>Advantages:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li>Targeted genome editing in <i> Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans </i></li>\r<li>Faster, more reliable strain engineering workflow</li>\r<li>Enhanced bioleaching performance via pathway optimization</li>\r</ul>\r\r<h2>Lead Inventor:</h2>\r\r<p><a href=\"https://bantalab.cheme.columbia.edu/people/scott-banta\">Scott Banta, Ph.D.</a></p>\r\r<h2>Patent Information:</h2>\r\r<p>Patent Pending</p>\r\r<h2>Related Publications:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li><a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41186282/\">Su Z, Jung H, Inaba Y, Banta SA. “Exploration of Retron Elements for the Genetic Engineering of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans”. ACS Synth Biol. 2025 Nov 21;14(11):4563-4573.</a></li>\r</ul>\r\r<h2>Tech Ventures Reference:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li><p>IR CU26019</p></li>\r<li><p>Licensing Contact: <a href=\"mailto:techtransfer@columbia.edu\">Dovina Qu</a></p></li>\r</ul>\r","tags":["Acidophile","CRISPR","Chemical library","Escherichia coli","Gene expression","Genetic engineering","Genome editing","Mathematical optimization","Workflow"],"file_number":"CU26019","collections":[],"meta_description":"Retron-based, inducible genome editing for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to boost bioleaching performance with targeted edits.","apriori_judge_output":"{\"scores\":{\"novelty\":4.0,\"potential_impact\":4.0,\"readiness\":3.0,\"scalability\":4.0,\"timeliness\":4.0},\"weighted_score\":3.9,\"risks\":[\"Assay/host transfer risk from E. coli to acidophiles may face regulatory and safety hurdles\",\"CRISPR/retron tooling in extreme environments may have stability challenges\",\"Market adoption depends on downstream processing integration in biomining facilities\",\"Intellectual property landscape for retron-based editing in acidophiles may be crowded\"],\"one_sentence_take\":\"Strong novel retron-based platform with clear acidophile focus and scalable potential, but readiness and regulatory/IP considerations warrant caution.\"}","inventors":["Scott A. Banta","Zihang Su"],"manager":"Dovina Qu","depts":["Chemical Engineering/Applied Chemistry"],"divs":["Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)"],"date_released":"2026-07-06"},"highlight":{},"matched_queries":null,"score":0.0}