Bhatt Darshak K, Crooijmans Marjolein E, Coenradij Jelmer, Maciá Valero Alicia, Lubbers Maarten, Asin-Garcia Enrique, Yewdall N Amy, D'Adamo Sarah, Claassens Nico J, Billerbeck Sonja
Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Microbial Sciences, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Biotechnol Notes. 2022 Aug 6;3:62-69. doi: 10.1016/j.biotno.2022.07.004. eCollection 2022.
Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a rapidly growing scientific discipline. In the Netherlands, various universities and companies are tackling a variety of opportunities and challenges within this field. In this perspective article, we review the current synthetic biology landscape in the Netherlands across academia, industry, politics, and society. Especially within Dutch academia there is an active, though only partially connected, research community involved in various domains of SynBio. Mostly supported by governmental funding, academic research is focusing on top-down synthetic biology, involving the engineering of, for example, bacteria and yeast for bioproduction, as well as bottom-up and cell-free synthetic biology aiming to understand life and build synthetic cells. There is also a large number of talented and motivated students interested in the field, exemplified by the participation and success of Dutch teams in the international iGEM synthetic biology competition. Commercial synthetic biology activities are taking place in various large industrial companies, as well as in start-ups and spin-offs, mostly divided over several 'SynBio hubs' in the Netherlands. However, the investment, regulatory and public-perception landscape is not yet optimal to stimulate entrepreneurial activities in SynBio. The Dutch and global society can further benefit from the large promise of SynBio through better integration of people active in the Dutch SynBio field, frequent political and public dialogue, and more attention towards regulatory issues. The recently founded Dutch synthetic biology association SynBioNL aims to contribute to realizing a positive impact on society by stimulating advances of the field in the Netherlands and beyond.
合成生物学是一门迅速发展的科学学科。在荷兰，多所大学和公司正在应对该领域内的各种机遇和挑战。在这篇观点文章中，我们审视了荷兰在学术界、产业界、政界和社会层面的当前合成生物学格局。尤其是在荷兰学术界，有一个活跃但联系尚不紧密的研究群体，涉足合成生物学的各个领域。学术研究大多由政府资金支持，主要聚焦于自上而下的合成生物学，比如对用于生物生产的细菌和酵母进行工程改造，以及旨在理解生命并构建合成细胞的自下而上和无细胞合成生物学。该领域也有大量有才华且积极性高的学生，荷兰团队在国际基因工程机器大赛（iGEM）合成生物学竞赛中的参与和成功便是例证。商业合成生物学活动在荷兰的各大工业公司以及初创企业和衍生企业中开展，大多分布在荷兰的几个“合成生物学中心”。然而，投资、监管和公众认知环境尚未达到刺激合成生物学领域创业活动的最佳状态。荷兰乃至全球社会可以通过更好地整合荷兰合成生物学领域的从业者、开展频繁的政治和公众对话以及更多关注监管问题，进一步从合成生物学的巨大前景中受益。最近成立的荷兰合成生物学协会SynBioNL旨在通过推动该领域在荷兰及其他地区的发展，为实现对社会的积极影响做出贡献。
