IGEM:Caltech/2008/Project/Phage Pathogen Defense: Difference between revisions
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=Phage Pathogen Defense= | =Phage Pathogen Defense= | ||
Bacterial food poisoning is a prevalent problem around the world; in the year of 2006, the United States had more than 325,000 hospitalizations from food borne illnesses. The iGEM 2008 team is designing a probiotic for medical applications, and given the prevalence of foodborne illnesses, pathogen defense is high on the list of priorities. Bacteriophages were chosen because they have evolved to be highly effective at infecting and killing their bacterial hosts, and their highly infectious and replicative nature means just one phage can lead to decimation of the pathogen population. | |||
Two methods have been used to approach the goal of ‘manufacturing’ phage. The first utilizes the Escherichia coli bacteriophage λ as a defense against pathogenic E. coli. A strain of E. coli has been developed which is immune to λ phage infection, but is lysogenic for λ. Furthermore, a plasmid has been developed to control the induction of λ using the E. Coli gene rscA, thus, with some application of signal, the lysogens can be triggered to enter the lytic cycle and release phage into the environment to infect other E. Coli. Due to the fact that the probiotic is immune to λ phage infection, the λ phage will only target pathogenic E. coli. The second method developed can be adapted to any temperate bacteriophage to target many species of bacteria. By circularizing phage DNA with a E. Coli plasmid origin of replication, the phage resides within the probiotic as a plasmid, however, upon conjugation with a bacteria of the host species, the ‘phasmid’ will produce virulent phage to destroy the pathogenic host population. | |||
==Part I: Lamda Phage== | ==Part I: Lamda Phage== | ||
Coming Soon | Coming Soon | ||
Revision as of 04:57, 1 August 2008
Phage Pathogen DefenseBacterial food poisoning is a prevalent problem around the world; in the year of 2006, the United States had more than 325,000 hospitalizations from food borne illnesses. The iGEM 2008 team is designing a probiotic for medical applications, and given the prevalence of foodborne illnesses, pathogen defense is high on the list of priorities. Bacteriophages were chosen because they have evolved to be highly effective at infecting and killing their bacterial hosts, and their highly infectious and replicative nature means just one phage can lead to decimation of the pathogen population. Two methods have been used to approach the goal of ‘manufacturing’ phage. The first utilizes the Escherichia coli bacteriophage λ as a defense against pathogenic E. coli. A strain of E. coli has been developed which is immune to λ phage infection, but is lysogenic for λ. Furthermore, a plasmid has been developed to control the induction of λ using the E. Coli gene rscA, thus, with some application of signal, the lysogens can be triggered to enter the lytic cycle and release phage into the environment to infect other E. Coli. Due to the fact that the probiotic is immune to λ phage infection, the λ phage will only target pathogenic E. coli. The second method developed can be adapted to any temperate bacteriophage to target many species of bacteria. By circularizing phage DNA with a E. Coli plasmid origin of replication, the phage resides within the probiotic as a plasmid, however, upon conjugation with a bacteria of the host species, the ‘phasmid’ will produce virulent phage to destroy the pathogenic host population. Part I: Lamda PhageComing Soon Pard II: B. Subtilis LysogensComing Soon |
