Microbes are collectivists

Biologists have bred lovebirds

Vladimir Korolev, N+1

Biologists from Duke University have developed a strain of E. coli that can exist under certain conditions only in the form of a dense colony – any bacterium that splits off from the rest almost immediately dies. According to the authors, such systems can be used as feedback in the future – bacteria can produce any useful substances in response to changes in the body's environment, restoring the equilibrium state. The work was published in the journal Molecular Systems Biology (Huang et al., Coupling spatial segregation with synthetic circuits to control bacterial survival), a university press release (Engineered Swarmbots Rely on Peers for Survival) briefly reports on it.

The authors changed the genome of E. coli in such a way that the body learned to produce special signaling molecules of N-acylhomoserine lactone. In addition, biologists managed to ensure that in the presence of large concentrations of this agent, bacteria began to secrete a special protein that can play the role of an antidote to certain antibiotics. If the bacteria were alone, the concentration of the signaling substance decreased and protein production stopped.

A colony of organisms in a special polymer capsule was placed in an environment containing an antibiotic – chloramphenicol, carbenicillin and kanamycin were used in different cases.

The capsule shell was arranged in such a way that both bacteria and an antibiotic could penetrate through it, however, as long as the bacteria maintained a high density, their destruction did not occur. The authors conducted a similar experiment with E. coli, devoid of a signaling mechanism – at the same initial concentrations, the unmodified E. coli died under the action of an antibiotic.

According to scientists, it is not necessary to use an antibiotic in the environment. Biologists hope that based on the development, it will be possible to create a controlled probiotic that responds to changes in the body. In addition, such systems can work as limiters for genetically modified organisms, preventing them from "running away".

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 04.03.2015