New One-Step Process for Designer Bacteria
The researchers have developed a new one-step bacterial genetic engineering process called ‘clonetegration’, published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology.
Led by Dr Keith Shearwin, in the University’s School of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, the research facilitates faster development of designer bacteria used in therapeutic drug development, such as insulin, and other biotechnology products.
Designer bacteria are produced by integrating extra pieces of genetic material into the DNA of bacteria, in this case E. coli, so that the bacteria will make a desired product.
“E. coli strains are commonly used workhorses for biotechnology and metabolic engineering,” Dr Shearwin says.
“For example, new genes or even the genetic material for whole metabolic pathways are inserted into the bacteria’s chromosome so that they produce compounds or proteins not normally produced. Insulin is an example of a therapeutic product produced in this way.”
“The existing process for integrating new genes is inefficient, taking several days. Our new process can be completed overnight.”
As well as speeding up the process, ‘clonetegration’ enables multiple rounds of genetic engineering on the same bacteria, and simultaneous integration of multiple genes at different specific locations.
“This will become a valuable technique for facilitating genetic engineering with sequences that are difficult to clone as well as enable the rapid construction of synthetic biological systems,” Dr Shearwin says.
The research was a collaboration with Stanford University, California. The molecular tools needed for the clonetegration process will be made freely available for ongoing research and development.
Dr Keith Shearwin
Senior Lecturer
School of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences
The University of Adelaide
Phone: +61 8 8313 5361
keith.shearwin@adelaide.edu.au
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.adelaide.edu.auAll latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Superradiant atoms could push the boundaries of how precisely time can be measured
Superradiant atoms can help us measure time more precisely than ever. In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen present a new method for measuring the time interval,…
Ion thermoelectric conversion devices for near room temperature
The electrode sheet of the thermoelectric device consists of ionic hydrogel, which is sandwiched between the electrodes to form, and the Prussian blue on the electrode undergoes a redox reaction…
Zap Energy achieves 37-million-degree temperatures in a compact device
New publication reports record electron temperatures for a small-scale, sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion device. In the nine decades since humans first produced fusion reactions, only a few fusion technologies have demonstrated…