(FOA)-Assessment
Tools for Biotechnology Products (EPA-G2020-STAR-C1); July 15,
2020
Agency
US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR)
Program
Description
The
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research to
support the development of improved science-based human health and environmental
risk assessments of new biotechnology products, including those developed
through synthetic biology, genome editing, and metabolic engineering. For the
purposes of this RFA, biotechnology products of interest include: industrial or
consumer chemicals; pesticides (including pesticide intermediates); and new
microbes used in biomass conversion for chemical production, microbial fuel
cells, mining and resource extraction, building materials, waste remediation and
pollution control, and non-pesticidal agriculture
applications (e.g., biofertilizers, weather and
climate modification).
Applicants
should address at least one of the three research areas, including at least one
subtopic, described below. Applications may respond to one research area or
integrate across two or three research areas.
1.
Long-term stability, persistence, efficacy, and reliability of microbial
biocontainment strategies, microbial synthetic genetic constructs, or microbial
genetic restriction technologies:
a.
Long-term
stability, persistence, and reliability of synbio
microbial biocontainment strategies (e.g., xenonucleic acids, noncanonical amino acids, recoded microorganisms) for
synbio microorganisms. For the purposes of this RFA,
biocontainment methodologies are those that prevent unintended proliferation of
genetically modified organisms in the environment.
b.
Stability
and persistence of synthetic genetic constructs in microbes (e.g., are synthetic
transgenes eliminated from viral, bacterial, algal or fungal genomes over
time?). For the purposes of this RFA, “synthetic genetic constructs” are defined
as new biological entities, not directly derived from extant organisms, such as
enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells or the redesign of existing biological
systems for useful purposes.
c.
Efficacy
of genetic restriction technologies or orthogonal gene constructs in precluding
horizontal gene transfer from synthetic microorganisms. Horizontal gene transfer
is a process in which organisms exchange genetic material with other species.
For the purposes of this RFA, “genetic restriction technologies” are defined as
methods that impede transgene movement. Particularly with self-replicating
microbial systems, re-engineered cells may produce undesired consequences if
they escape or overwhelm their intended host environment.
2.
Ecological effects/impacts of synbio organisms or
by-products that are released into the environment:
a.
Survival,
persistence, and unintended ecological effects of synbio microorganisms, plants and animals.
b.
Unintended
environmental effects/potential impacts of synthetic microorganisms, plants and
animals such as: bacteriophages, plant viruses, entomopathogens, bacterial or fungal colonizers, (e.g.,
rhizobia, other nitrogen-fixing bacteria, mycorrhizae), higher plants,
mosquitoes, or rodents.
3.
Risks to human health from novel biomolecules produced using metabolic or
genetic pathways by organisms used as manufacturing bioreactors. Much work
regarding toxicity and allergenicity of new protein
domains relies on bioinformatics that use existing databases of known toxins and
allergens. These databases, or the literature, do not apply to biomolecules made
by synbio organisms. Methods
and models are needed to determine potential physiological responses, such as:
a.
Adverse
responses, including protein toxicity/allergenicity,
biosynthetically produced proteins, atypical nucleotides, or noncanonical
amino acids (i.e., non-standard amino acids and possibly other ligands),
b.
Predictive
toxicity motif detection in instances where noncanonical amino acids are incorporated into
peptides/proteins,
c.
Synbio
microorganism colonization of the human microbiome.
Institutional
cost-sharing is not required. In addition to regular awards, this
solicitation includes the opportunity for early career awards. The purpose of
the early career award is to fund research projects smaller in scope and budget
by early career PIs. An
early career option is available at EPA-G2020-STAR-C2.
Announcement
Number:
EPA-G2020-STAR-C1
Closing
Date:
July
15, 2020
Link
to Full Announcement
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326875
Contact
Information
Barbara
Klieforth
202-564-7723