PMID:22132112
| Citation |
Bhomkar, P, Materi, W and Wishart, DS (2011) The bacterial nanorecorder: engineering E. coli to function as a chemical recording device. PLoS ONE 6:e27559 |
|---|---|
| Abstract |
Synthetic biology is an emerging branch of molecular biology that uses synthetic genetic constructs to create man-made cells or organisms that are capable of performing novel and/or useful applications. Using a synthetic chemically sensitive genetic toggle switch to activate appropriate fluorescent protein indicators (GFP, RFP) and a cell division inhibitor (minC), we have created a novel E. coli strain that can be used as a highly specific, yet simple and inexpensive chemical recording device. This biological "nanorecorder" can be used to determine both the type and the time at which a brief chemical exposure event has occurred. In particular, we show that the short-term exposure (15-30 min) of cells harboring this synthetic genetic circuit to small molecule signals (anhydrotetracycline or IPTG) triggered long-term and uniform cell elongation, with cell length being directly proportional to the time elapsed following a brief chemical exposure. This work demonstrates that facile modification of an existing genetic toggle switch can be exploited to generate a robust, biologically-based "nanorecorder" that could potentially be adapted to detect, respond and record a wide range of chemical stimuli that may vary over time and space. |
| Links |
PubMed PMC3223186 Online version:10.1371/journal.pone.0027559 |
| Keywords |
Escherichia coli/cytology; Escherichia coli/drug effects; Escherichia coli/metabolism; Genes, Reporter/genetics; Genetic Engineering/methods; Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside/pharmacology; Luminescent Proteins/metabolism; Nanostructures/chemistry; Plasmids/genetics; Synthetic Biology/methods; Tetracyclines/pharmacology; Time Factors |
| edit table |
Significance
You can help EcoliWiki by summarizing why this paper is useful
Useful Materials and Methods
You can help Ecoliwiki by describing the useful materials (strains, plasmids, antibodies, etc) described in this paper.
Annotations
<annotationlinks/>
EcoliWiki Links
Add links to pages that link here (e.g. gene, product, method pages)
See also
References
See Help:References for how to manage references in EcoliWiki.