1. First, describe a biological engineering application or tool you want to develop and why. This could be inspired by an idea for your HTGAA class project and/or something for which you are already doing in your research, or something you are just curious about.

One of the applications I’d like to look into is converting raw cowhide into something more useful, perhaps a biofuel or collagen, via the use of engineering microorganisms that can help transform the cowhide.

I’m interested in this after speaking with a friend of mine of who founded and runs a meat distribution company. He works with small farmers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York who raise cattle, and his company buys those cattle, has them broken down, and sold to restaurants and butchers.

Recently, his market for leather dried up, and he is left with a lot of cowhide that not only does not sell, it costs money to get rid of.

Finding a way to transform this cowhide into something higher in value would help his company, and many other farmers/meat distributers, prevent waste and make some money along the way.

With the help of ChatGPT, I’ve identified a handful of promising microorganisms to engineer to amplify their natural strengths:

• Clostridium spp. (e.g., Clostridium thermocellum, Clostridium acetobutylicum)
  • Efficient at degrading complex proteins (collagen) and cellulose-like structures.
  • Can be engineered to convert breakdown products into ethanol or butanol, both of which can be used as biofuels.
• Escherichia coli (E. coli) (Engineered Strains)
  • Native strains don’t break down collagen efficiently, but synthetic biology modifications could allow it to express collagenase and keratinase enzymes.
  • Already widely engineered for biofuel production (ethanol, butanol, fatty acid-derived fuels).
• Pseudomonas putida
  • Naturally degrades a wide range of organic materials.
  • Can be engineered to metabolize collagen peptides into hydrocarbons for jet fuel or biodiesel.
• Trichoderma reesei (Industrial Cellulase Producer)
  • Can be engineered to express collagenases and keratinases.
  • Works well for breaking down tough fibrous materials into fermentable sugars, which can be converted into ethanol.
• Aspergillus spp. (e.g., Aspergillus niger)
  • Naturally produces proteases and lipases that help break down proteins and fats.
  • Can be genetically modified to improve lipid-to-biodiesel conversion.
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast)
  • Widely used for bioethanol production.
  • If engineered with collagenase genes, it could ferment hydrolyzed cowhide into ethanol.

1. Next, describe one or more governance/policy goals related to ensuring that this application or tool contributes to an "ethical" future, like ensuring non-malfeasance (preventing harm). Break big goals down into two or more specific sub-goals. Below is one example framework (developed in the context of synthetic genomics) you can choose to use or adapt, or you can develop your own. The example was developed to consider policy goals of ensuring safety and security, alongside other goals, like promoting constructive uses, but you could propose other goals for example, those relating to equity or autonomy.

This application (1) promotes useful applications and (2) protects the environment via minimizing waste.

It (1) promotes useful applications by

• using synbio to help farmers find a market for something that was otherwise a cost center. This is not a product that creates net-new demand for something frivolous; instead it’s something that can take a waste product and potentially turn it into something constructive.
• If it can become a biofuel that also is used on the farm, it will lead to a more “circular economy” approach to sustainability.

It (2) protects the environment by

• reducing waste and ensuring the whole animal, in this case cow, is used — which I’d argue protects the environment by respecting what we are taking from it.

1. Next, describe at least three different potential governance "actions" by considering the four aspects below (Purpose, Design, Assumptions, Risks of Failure & “Success”). Try to outline a mix of actions (e.g. a new requirement/rule, incentive, or technical strategy) pursued by different "actors" (e.g. academic researchers, companies, federal regulators, law enforcement, etc). Draw upon your existing knowledge and a little additional digging, and feel free to use analogies to other domains (e.g. 3D printing, drones, financial systems, etc.).

A) Require that the product be synthesized in a regulated lab environment

Purpose: Enhance biosecurity by ensuring the product is created in an environment with the right safety measures and technical know-how in place.

Design: There are already 5+ US federal agencies that have purview over biosafety requirements in synbio labs. Depending on how exactly this substance meant to transform cow hides worked, it would likely already require a regulation of this kind. Meeting the requirements will likely involve registering potentially dangerous agents, providing trainings, and being available for audits by the federal agencies.