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Citrobacter freundii Characterisation:
Introduction
In addition to questioning the legacy of using antibiotic resistance genes for selection and counterselection, we have also questioned the legacy of using E. coli as a chassis for a lot of the work done in synthetic biology and other genetic modifications. This organism was set up as the chassis back in the 1960s, when synthetic biology did not even exist – as such, we wondered whether it would be the optimal chassis for this field or if the field needs a novel chassis that can co-evolve with it and which was implemented with the specific needs of this area in mind.
As such, we propose Citrobacter freundii to provide a dialogue on what a synthetic-biology specific chassis should look like, what properties it should have and what should be known about it before it can be used as a reliable chassis.
Citrobacter freundii, or the ‘Friendly lemon bacterium’ gains its name from its ability to grow on citrate as the sole carbon source. It is part of the gamma-proteobacteria, like E. coli, which means that it has a lot of very similar traits to it (meaning that we can use the same protocols that were originally derived for E. coli) but, as we have found over the summer, it also has some abilities that E. coli lacks.
The experiments done on Citrobacter freundii are not meant to be all-encompassing but rather just trying to grasp aspects of it to show what it is and is not suitable for.
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