Phytase Probiotic

Iron deficiency affects 2 billion people - or over 30% of the world’s population – and can lead to anemia, ill health, and even death. Surprisingly, this deficiency is typically not due to a lack of dietary iron, but rather due to low bio-availability, and thus poor absorption of iron. Phytic acid is a prevalent chelator of iron and other nutrients in food. Our mission is to build a system that breaks down phytic acid in the digestive system, releasing bound iron for the body to absorb. Our solution comprises two engineered components: a module that constitutively produces phytase to break down phytic acid and a pH-sensitive module that causes cells to lyse and release the accumulated phytase in the stomach. If successful, our strain would be a low-cost sustainable solution to preventing iron deficiency without the need for constant supplies of iron supplements.

Purpose

Our team focused on ameliorating nutrient deficiencies in developing countries. The three main nutrient deficiency disorders listed by the World Health Organization are vitamin A deficiency (VAD), iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA). We chose to focus on iron deficiency anemia, which is "the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world."

Research has been done in low-income countries to demonstrate that iron deficiency is not a result a lack of iron in the diet, but rather a lack of bioavailability of the iron within the diet. The lack of bioavailability is due to phytate chelating the iron into a state that the body cannot absorb. Phytate (or phytic acid) is the principal form of storage of phosphorous in many plant tissues.

Phytase is an enzyme produced by bacteria and fungi that breaks down phytic acid. We plan on producing a probiotic that will release phytase into the body, thus increasing the bioavailability of iron.

Implementation

Results