Yo Suzuki, Ph.D.
Special Faculty Recruitment Seminar
Assistant Professor
Synthetic Biology & Bioenergy group
J. Craig Venter Institute
Seminar Information
Biology is full of surprises and opportunities. When a phenotype for a multi-mutant is stronger than expected in light of the phenotypes of the single mutants (containing one of the mutations in the multi-mutant), that is “surprising.” Finding synergistic phenotypes like this requires altering multiple genes simultaneously, and many were missed in traditional genetics or biochemistry studies. Uncovering these hidden phenotypes often provides valuable clues for understanding biological processes of interest.
Phenotypes can be expanded to include engineered biosynthesis capabilities and engineered cellular behaviors. Engineered genetic changes, like mutations, can act synergistically. The incorporation of positive surprises in multi-genic genetic engineering can have a profound effect on the target bioproduction and biotechnology applications.
The excitement in Yo’s group for the last few years has been to accelerate the investigation of gene synergy in industrially relevant organisms. Computer programs were developed for automating construct designs. A combinatorial assembly method termed CombiGEM was adapted for generating DNA constructs for a wide range of organisms. A pipeline for analyzing DNA barcodes that mark combinatorial genotypes was developed. The set of organisms that can be engineered now extends to Pseudomonas putida, Acinetobacter baylyi, Synechocystis sp., Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Clostridium ljungdahlii in addition to synthetic minimal bacterial cells from JCVI. These technologies are being integrated to establish a rapid design-build-test-learn cycle for identifying gene synergy. The cycle of positive surprises is expected to contribute to transforming current and future biobased industries.
Yo Suzuki is interested in the systematic investigation of synergy among genes in microbes suitable for industrial or biomedical applications. He grew up in Japan and was introduced to molecular biology at Nagoya University by Kuni Matsumoto and scientists from the Arthur Kornberg school. Yo moved to the U.S. in 1994 to study with Bill Wood at University of Colorado at Boulder and received his Ph.D. in 2000. He stayed at University of Colorado to work as a research associate with Min Han. In 2006, Yo became a postdoctoral fellow with Fritz Roth and Marc Vidal at Harvard Medical School. Since 2010, Yo has been an Assistant Professor in the Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy group at J. Craig Venter Institute.