gpwrite-2019 | P23.
Genetic Engineering of Human Cells for Radiotolerance Craig Westover,
Sherry Yang, Sonia Iosim, Deena Najjar, Daniel Butler, Daniela Bezdan,
Christopher E. Mason. Weill Cornell,
New York, New York, United States Space flight has been documented to
produce a number of detrimental physiological effects as a result of
cosmic radiation. Space radiation is about 100 times higher than the
average effective dose per year from natural radiation
on earth and has the ability to produce DNA double stranded breaks
leading to increased chromosomal aberrations. The harsh environmental
effects of space on organisms have also been studied on the molecular
level and as such have shed light on some of the
underlying mechanisms that give rise to space induced alterations of
cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, maturation,
and cell survival. Our lab was recently involved in the NASA Twin
Project where we analyzed Scott Kelly’s genome, transcriptome,
and corresponding epigenetic modifications in response to 1 year of
space flight. With this information in mind we are now moving on to
genetically engineering HEK293 cells to survive ionizing cosmic
radiation.
P28. Detecting evidence of genetic engineering
Yuchen Ge, Jitong Cai, Joel S. Bader Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, Maryland, United States Detecting evidence of genetic
engineering is important for biosecurity, provenance, and intellectual
property rights. The need for monitoring and detection is growing with
contemplated release of gene drive systems. We describe results of a
computational systems designed to detect engineering from DNA sequencing
of biological samples, including automated
identification of host strains, detection of foreign gene content, and
detection of watermarks. Our results demonstrate near perfect
identification of foreign gene content in blinded samples, but less
ability to detect more subtle engineering associated with
watermarks that blend in with natural variation. We describe plans for
future improvements.
