Auditointein
Auditointein is a fictional class of engineered protein domains imagined in speculative biology and science fiction to couple intein-mediated protein splicing with an integrated auditing module. The term blends audit and intein, signaling a built-in mechanism for recording splicing events to create a traceable output. In this concept, an auditointein would consist of a standard protein intein flanked by exteins, plus an attached auditing module that logs each splicing event in a durable signal or ledger.
Mechanism and structure: In natural inteins, splicing removes the intein and seals the exteins. A hypothetical
Applications and scope: In theory, auditointeins could enable tamper-evident records in synthetic biology circuits, traceable production
Limitations and ethics: The concept raises substantial biosafety and biosecurity concerns, including dual-use potential, stability, and
See also: intein, protein splicing, synthetic biology, data integrity, biosurveillance.