Team:HIT-Harbin

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Staphylococcus aureus infections are a major caus of morbidity and mortality in community and hospital settings. Consequently, the emergence of methicillin-resistant and, more recently, vancomysin-resistant strains of S.aureus represents an enormous threat to public health. Since bacterial sensors are attracting more and more biologists' attention owing to its detecting specifically, quickly and accurately, we plan to construct a E.coli consortium consisting of two different engineered populations, which comprises consortium biofilm formation, S.aureus detecting, killing and bacterial lysis devices, that will enable the E.coli consortium to detect and kill a pathogen S.aureus.
Firstly, a detecting system will be constructed. The engineered can detect the existence of S.aureus through sensing the AIPs secreted only from S.aureus. The report will be shown by the expression of GFP. Once it senses the AIPs, the engineered E.coli will release signal protein AHL into the environment.
Secondly, a killing and lysis system will be constructed. Upon sensing the AHL, the engineered E.coli will express lysostaphin, an endopeptidase, which cleaves the pentaglycine cross-bridges of the staphylococal cell wall rapidly lysing the bacteria. Some time after the lysostaphin is expressed, the lysis E7 will be expressed and lysis E.coli so that lysostaphin can be released into the environment.