IGEM:IMPERIAL/2008/New/Cellulose

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Biomaterial
To explore the use of synthetic biology for biomaterial we collaborated with the researcher Suzanne Lee and her biocouture project. Her group has been focused on the use of a particular biomaterial called bacterial cellulose for the production of clothes. Drying the gel like bacterial cellulose produces a material that can be cut and organically patterned to produce a number clothes from jackets to shoes. From discussions with Susan Lee it became apparent that there were a number of potential advantages for taking a synthetic biology approach to produce biomaterials. This page summaries the use of bacterial cellulose and the potential advantages for a synthetic biology approach.


Cellulose

Although the bacterial cellulose has been known of for decades, it was not until X-ray crystallography studies that the structure was revealed. On the molecular level chains of glucose join together in repeating units that build up microfibers. These microfibers randomly assemble into fibers of ~130nm width. During the drying process of bacterial cellulose the fibers arrange parallel to each others in layers. These give the dried cellulose sheets high stability and strength to the cellulose sheets.Traditionally bacterial cellulose has been collected and used in nata-de-coca, an indigenous desert food of Philippines. Recently a number of new applications have been proposed from use in headphones and medical....


Genetics of bacterial cellulose
Acetobacter xylinum is a Gram-negative bacterium that produces bacterial cellulose (BC). Central to BC production is cellulose synthase, which synthesises cellulose from the sugar precursor, UDP-glucose. Cellulose synthase is thought to consist of four subunits known as A,B,C and D. A and B are thought to form the glycosyltransferase that catalyses a B-glycosyltransferase reaction to join two sugar molecules together to progressively create chains of glucose. It is hypothesised that C forms a pore for the transport of cellulose and D helps to crystallize cellulose into larger fibers. In addition two complementary enzymes appear to be essential for BC production, an endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (Cmcax) and cellulose complementary protein (CcpAx). Cmcax causes hydrolysis of cellulose but has been shown to be essential for BC production, whilst the CcpAx function remains to be determined.


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The Potential of Synthetic Biology
The potential of synthetic biology for biomaterials lies in controlling synthesis. For example, in our biosubtilis fabricator we use a light input to drive the synthesis of biomaterial. This allows a greater control of the Microscopic properties (i.e the layout of fibers) and Macroscopic properties (i.e. the overall shape) of a biomaterial. Furthermore, changing the inputs into our biosubtilis fabricator can allow more specific control. For example, shaping cellulose around a mold to produce seamless clothes is technically challanging. However, adaption of the biofabrictor subtilis could allow binding and sensing of the mold to allow cellulose synthesis only when the bactria is bound.



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