The multidisciplinary Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology at their meeting in July 2023 agreed on a process for the first cycle of broad and regular horizon scanning, monitoring and assessment of the most recent technological developments in synthetic biology. The process for the 2023-2024 intersessional period will consist of both multidisciplinary expert-driven submissions by members of the multidisciplinary Expert Group and a literature review to be conducted by the Secretariat. The process can be found in Annex I of the report of the meeting of the multidisciplinary Expert Group: https://www.cbd.int/meetings/SYNBIO-AHTEG-2023-01. At this meeting, the Group also requested the Secretariat to convene closed online discussions to support the work of the experts. In response to these requests, the Secretariat has set up this virtual forum. This is a private, closed forum for the exclusive use of the members of the multidisciplinary expert group. 

In line with the request from the multidisciplinary Expert Group, the Secretariat has produced a revised list of issues and trends of synthetic biology, which can be accessed using the following link: 2023-August-Provisional selection list on synthetic biology.docx.  The multidisciplinary expert-driven submissions process allowed experts of the Group to select up to a maximum of 5 issues from the provisional selection list and/or submit new issues on synthetic biology. In total, the Secretariat received 96 submissions from 31 members. 33 items received submissions, 21 items did not receive submissions and 4 new trends and issues in synthetic biology were submitted. A synthesis of all submissions can be found here: 2023-10-05-Compilation of shortlist.pdf. The compilation of all responses can be accessed using the following link 2023-10-13-rough-Compilation of the multidisciplinary expert submissions-anon.docx.

During the virtual meeting of this multidisciplinary expert group from 10 to 12 October 2023, the members agreed on 17 trends and issues in synthetic biology to form the prioritized list. Further, of those 17 trends and issues, 5 were identified for a more detailed assessment.  The prioritized list of trends and issues in synthetic biology can be found here: 2023-10-19-rev-prioritized list.docx. The 5 trends and issues in synthetic biology identified for a more detailed assessment will be the basis for the discussions of the Open-ended Online Forum on Synthetic Biology, scheduled for 6 to 10 November 2023. 

Forum Guidelines

AHTEG members must sign-in using a CBD account to post messages on the Forum.

FORUM GUIDELINES:

Participants are expected to:

1. Briefly introduce themselves under the 'Welcoming message from co-chairs and introductions' thread, including their name, country and institutional affiliation.
2. Keep their messages short, concise and focused.
3. Ensure that the messages are relevant to the topic/question being discussed.
4. Make sure that the text or files attached do not contain viruses, corrupted files or any other similar file deficiencies.
5. Be respectful of others’ points of view.

Background Documents

The following documents are shared as background information for the process.

• CBD Technical Series No. 100 Synthetic Biology The Technical series No.100 provides information on the state of the field of synthetic biology, including the development of some synthetic biology applications.
• 2023 Report of the multidisciplinary Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology The report of the first meeting, which was held in July 2023.
• Summary of discussions of the Open-ended Online Forum on Synthetic Biology The information document from the meeting of the multidisciplinary AHTEG held from 11 to 14 July 2023 contains a summary of the open-ended online discussions on synthetic biology held from 20 to 31 March 2023.