The question of orthogonality is inherent to the endeavor of creating standards in Synthetic Biology, although few systematic approaches have been proposed yet. In a first step, gene circuits will inevitably be designed, experimentally tested and characterized in one bacterial species, e.g. one of the model organisms as Escherichia coli. In order to use the … Leer más
A chassis is defined as the load-bearing framework of an object. In other words, the chassis supports the weight and the structure of the object so that it can function correctly. To illustrate this concept, think of a car. All the metallic framework that holds together the rest of the components is known as the … Leer más
Protein misfolding and aggregation are common pathological features for many human diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cancer. Aiming to increase the effectiveness of early drug discovery programs for these conditions, the lab of Dr. Georgios Skretas has developed a bacterial platform that enables the biosynthesis of molecular libraries … Leer más
The OMIC-Engine Athens Hub is working on incorporating the advantages of high-temperature biocatalysis into Synthetic Biology (SB) applications. Led by the Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology Unit at the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (PI Prof. Dimitris Hatzinikolaou) and in collaboration with the Laboratory of Biotechnology the National Technical University … Leer más
Chromosomal exchange and subsequent recombination of the cognate DNA between bacteria was one of the most useful genetic tools (e.g., Hfr strains) for genetic analyses of E. coli before the genomic era. In this paper, yeast assembly has been used to recruit the conjugation machinery of environmentally promiscuous RP4 plasmid into a minimized, synthetic construct that enables … Leer más
Synthetic Biology, born in the early 2000s, aims to take biotechnology one step further by introducing, into the biological realm, conceptual frameworks from a range of engineering disciplines, including electrical, computer and industrial engineering. The goal is to be able to create complex biological objects and, for this, it is necessary to design and construct … Leer más
Pseudomonas putida is a soil bacterium that is frequently found in sites polluted with toxic chemicals. It is able to survive in these sites because of its ability to tolerate high levels of endogenous and exogenous oxidative stress. But, how? The answer to this question remains largely unknown. A study, recently published in The ISME Journal, … Leer más
In the implementation of Boolean logic circuits in cells, the focus is mainly on the genetic components, although it must be taken into account that the context in which the circuit performs is crucial for its outcome. In this recent work, 20 genetic NOT logic gates have been characterised in up to 7 bacterial-based contexts … Leer más
Nonlinearity is fundamental in the performance of natural and synthetic biological networks, as many key functional motifs in microbial systems rely on nonlinear molecular dynamics. Nevertheless, the rational design of nonlinearity is an unmet challenge due to the lack of mathematical modelling that accounts for the mechanistic basis of nonlinearity. In this study, a model … Leer más
Planktonic flocs composed of multiple bacterial strains can be used biocatalytic agents in aqueous media for industrial applications and environmental cleanup. Microbial consortia are characterized by including division of labour among the different microbial species that compose the biofilm, allowing to perform complex biochemical transformations. But this division of labour is not the only think … Leer más