Project

The list of the ideas generated from the brainstorm
The paper-making E coli
A time relay device (E coli baby sitter)
An E coli Pipeline
Torch rely
Tumor-killer
E coli neural pathway
…….

The coexistence of organisms has been in the focus of research interests for a while, revealing the interactions between species not only contributes to the deeper understanding of natural systems but also provides perspectives for more efficient coculture of organisms that function in pharmaceutical engineering and soil remediation.

As in prisoners’ dilemma, the bacteria in our design are faced with two solutions for coexistence, they could either choose to cooperate with one another by providing inducers to express their partners’ antibiotics-resistance genes or they could take a foe strategy in which no cooperation is needed for both strains’ survival.

To realize this goal, toggle switches have been built to regulate the interactions between the two strains. As is shown in the illustration above, we used kanamycin and chloramphenicol as the selective forces.

When auto-inducers, either AHL or BHL is introduced to the culture, LuxPr or Prhl will be activated to produce the auto-inducers required by their partners, and express the anti-biotic resistant genes to ensure each other’s survival. During the process, PBad/arac and Plac will be repressed because of the repressors Arac and LacI expressed by LuxPr and PrhI.
However, upon the introduction of IPTG or arobinose, the repressors will stop functioning, so that Aiia will be expressed, and therefore AHL and BHL will be degraded, so that there will be no communications any more, and the relationship between the two strains will enter the phase of competition.