Design and Construction of Synthetic Biology Tools for Sustainable Lanthanide Extraction

Abstract

Lanthanides are critical elements used in numerous modern technologies, but their mining and purification pose significant environmental challenges. This thesis describes the development of synthetic biology tools to enable more sustainable extraction of lanthanides using engineered microbes. In Chapter 1, I engineer LanTERN, a first-of-its-kind fluorescent biosensor that directly transduces lanthanide binding into a fluorescent signal. LanTERN enables direct fluorescent detection of lanthanide binding, overcoming the limitations of previous sensors. Chapter 2 details early work on generating small, stable lanthanide-binding peptides through de novo design. Finally, Chapter 3 places this work in the broader context of synthetic microbiology for sustainability applications. I present a framework categorizing sustainability efforts based on their level of environmental containment and discuss research priorities for responsibly deploying engineered microbes. Together, the tools and perspectives provided help lay a foundation for engineering microbes to extract, concentrate, and separate lanthanides in a more environmentally friendly manner.