Sulfolobus islandicus, an archaeal model organism, offers unique advantages for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology applications owing to its ability to thrive under low pH and high temperature conditions. Although several genetic tools exist for this organism, the absence of well-defined chromosomal integration sites continues to limit its development as a cellular factory. A research team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign employed the CRISPR-COPIES pipeline and a multi-omics strategy that integrates genomics and epigenomics to guide the selection of genomic regions suitable for integration. This work expands the genetic toolbox for non-conventional hosts, advancing the potential for robust platforms for synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology.

When AI is used to write code that interacts with so-called legacy systems with outdated software, expensive problems arise, costing U.S. companies an estimated $1.5 trillion in reduced productivity and cybercrime. Research by Edward Anderson Jr., professor of information, risk, and operations management, finds ways companies can avoid common pitfalls.