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Review
. 2025 Jun:221:115578.
doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2025.115578. Epub 2025 Apr 11.

Be a GEM: Biocontained, environmentally applied, genetically engineered microbes

Tae Seok Moon  1
Affiliations
Review

Be a GEM: Biocontained, environmentally applied, genetically engineered microbes

Tae Seok Moon. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Technological advances in engineering biology or synthetic biology have enabled practical applications of genetically engineered microbes (GEMs), including their use as living diagnostics and vehicles for therapeutics. However, technological and non-technological issues associated with biocontainment of GEMs have yet to be addressed before fully realizing their potential. In this short perspective, I briefly discuss the relevant technologies for GEM biocontainment as well as environmental impacts, regulatory issues, and public perception of GEMs.

Keywords: Biocontainment; GMO regulation; Genetic circuit; Genetically engineered microbe; Genetically modified organism; Probiotic; Public perception.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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