![]() ![]() The first strain could kill the second but not the third the second could kill the third but not the first the third could kill the first but not the second. Each strain produced a toxin, a corresponding antitoxin to protect itself, and a second antitoxin for protection against one of the other strains. The UCSD team used three engineered strains of E. But last September in Science, Hasty, his doctoral student Michael Liao and their colleagues designed a strategy to thwart even the most mutation-happy bacterium through a kind of “microbial peer pressure,” as an accompanying commentary called it. coli disable even his elegantly engineered systems. ![]() “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” Hasty said.įor years, Hasty watched mutant E. ![]() As a result, the desired characteristic disappears, often within 36 hours. Inevitably, cells acquire mutations deactivating the introduced genetic circuitry, and the mutants quickly replace the original cells. If a cell needs to divert some of its resources to make a desired protein, it becomes marginally less fit than cells that don’t synthesize it. What’s harder, he discovered, is maintaining those traits. Hasty didn’t have a problem engineering useful, tightly regulated new genetic traits or getting them to work in cells. ![]() But several years ago, Hasty had to admit that even he couldn’t outfox the humble bacterium Escherichia coli. A pioneer of synthetic biology at the University of California, San Diego, Jeff Hasty has spent his 20-year career designing strategies to make genetic circuits in engineered bacteria work together. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |