Synthetic enzymes, once released---intentionally or unintentionally---may participate in:
Gene flow across microbial species
Unanticipated substrate promiscuity, degrading natural polymers
Selective pressures that restructure microbial communities
CAS-based models are powerful, but their predictions are probabilistic, not absolute. Hence, the precautionary principle must be operationalized as part of any deployment protocol. This includes:
In silico stress-testing of enzyme function across ecological scenarios
Simulated long-term co-evolutionary modeling with native enzymes
Synthetic fail-safes like kill-switches or dependency circuits embedded within microbial hosts
Crucially, systemic modeling must not only predict functionality but also ecological resilience and boundary conditions, under which synthetic elements cease to be benign.
3. Governance and Public Accountability
Deploying computationally evolved biomolecules into ecosystems cannot be guided solely by scientific expertise. There is a pressing need for:
