MRSA Killer

The bacteria is one of the pathogen of humans. For many years, overusing of antibiotic contributes to antibiotic resistance of many bacteria. At present, drug-resistant bacteria are becoming a huge threaten to human's life health, the development of new antibiotics can't catch its demanding. Focusing on this, our team uses the way of synthetic biology to detect and kill the drug-resistant bacteria.

On gram-positive bacterium, we choose the MRSA to study. We make use of the quorum-sensing system of gram-positive bacterium and a genetic switch based on cI and lacI genes, then we design a genetic circuit to detect MRSA and then kill it by producing a toxin, and we put our genetic circuit into the E.coli to produce a new E.coli that can detect MRSA specifically and then kill it. In our experiment, we use MSSA to study because MRSA is a second-level pathogenic bacteria. Now, our present work is connecting the plasmids.

In terms of gram-negative bacterium，E. coli was selected and the engineering bacteria was designed to resist antibiotic resistance E. coli. After the engineering bacteria detects the group sense signal molecules of pathogen, siRNA which will silence the gene allowing a bacterium to be resistant to antibiotics is released. Meanwhile, special enzyme is emitted from the engineering bacteria to destroy the biofilm. At this stage we designed and synthesized siRNA, and the next step is to carry out the in vitro transcription experiment of siRNA.

Formaldehyde Eliminator

This year the project of XMU-China is Formaldehyde Eliminator.Formaldehyde is an important precursor to many other materials and chemical compounds. It is mainly used in the production of industrial resins, e.g., for particle board and coatings.

In view of its widespread use, toxicity, and volatility, formaldehyde poses a significant danger to human health.[8] In 2011, the US National Toxicology Program described formaldehyde as "known to be a human carcinogen"We focused on the formaldhyde sensing and recycling. In this project, we conducted three circuits to get access to our target which is about detection and transformation of formaldehyde. With the Sensor, we can tell, from the green fluorescence and the forming of patterns, whether there is formaldehyde or not and whether the formaldehyde is eliminated completely. Recycle circuit could change formaldehyde into methanol and carbon dioxide through multiple metabolism with the help of specific enzymes. The Controller circuit activates Recycle circuit, releasing the enzymes in the presence of formaldehyde, in which way it enhances the function of the Recycle System. With the cooperation of all these three systems, we can detect and transform formaldehyde by a biosynthetic way.