Surtt
07-12-2007, 11:52 AM
hxxp://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/07/designer-virus-.html
By hacking a virus with artificial DNA, researchers at MIT and Boston University created a bacteria-killing machine that demonstrates the potential of synthetic biology.
The original virus -- called a bacteriophage, as it targets bacteria -- was modified with plug-and-play DNA sequences that made it produce enzymes that kill e. coli and break down the protein layers secreted by bacterial colonies. These layers, known as biofilms, insulate bacteria from regular bacteriophages (and antibiotics). The films make it difficult to keep medical equipment and water supply systems sterile.
To test the engineered T7 phage, the team cultivated E. coli biofilms on plastic pegs. They found that their engineered phage eliminated 99.997% of the bacterial biofilm cells, an improvement by two orders of magnitude over the phage's nonengineered cousin.
I talked to the lead investigator, James Collins, for an upcoming article on synthetic biology regulation. We discussed this latest work, and his description of the mechanism was pretty cool:
It's hard to get into biofilms. So we engineered the bacteriophages, once they got inside, to express an enzyme that would degrade the biofilm. Once inside the cell, they actually use cell's own machinery to do that. In addition, they make copies of themselves ... and then, when the cell bursts, it infects other bacteria.
And the biggest news about the new phage isn't what it could do to e. coli, but how the technique could be broadly applied:
The team's modular strategy can be thought of as a "plug and play" library, says Collins. "The library could contain different phages that target different species or strains of bacteria, each constructed using related design principles to express different enzymes."
This kind of thing scares the hell out of me, virus reproduce and mutate.
(Maybe I have just seen Jurassic Park one too many times.)
By hacking a virus with artificial DNA, researchers at MIT and Boston University created a bacteria-killing machine that demonstrates the potential of synthetic biology.
The original virus -- called a bacteriophage, as it targets bacteria -- was modified with plug-and-play DNA sequences that made it produce enzymes that kill e. coli and break down the protein layers secreted by bacterial colonies. These layers, known as biofilms, insulate bacteria from regular bacteriophages (and antibiotics). The films make it difficult to keep medical equipment and water supply systems sterile.
To test the engineered T7 phage, the team cultivated E. coli biofilms on plastic pegs. They found that their engineered phage eliminated 99.997% of the bacterial biofilm cells, an improvement by two orders of magnitude over the phage's nonengineered cousin.
I talked to the lead investigator, James Collins, for an upcoming article on synthetic biology regulation. We discussed this latest work, and his description of the mechanism was pretty cool:
It's hard to get into biofilms. So we engineered the bacteriophages, once they got inside, to express an enzyme that would degrade the biofilm. Once inside the cell, they actually use cell's own machinery to do that. In addition, they make copies of themselves ... and then, when the cell bursts, it infects other bacteria.
And the biggest news about the new phage isn't what it could do to e. coli, but how the technique could be broadly applied:
The team's modular strategy can be thought of as a "plug and play" library, says Collins. "The library could contain different phages that target different species or strains of bacteria, each constructed using related design principles to express different enzymes."
This kind of thing scares the hell out of me, virus reproduce and mutate.
(Maybe I have just seen Jurassic Park one too many times.)