Engineering bacteria to search for specific concentrations of molecules by a systematic synthetic biology design method

• Main Authors: Tien, Hsin Min, 田欣民
• Other Authors: Chen, Bor Sen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/93926432907284283294

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 電機工程學系 === 103 === Bacteria navigate the environment full of various chemicals to seek favorable places for surviving by controlling the flagella’s rotation using a complicated signal transduction pathway. By influencing the pathway, bacteria can be engineered to search for specific molecules, which has great potential for application to biomedicine and bioremediation. In this study, genetic circuits were constructed to make bacteria search for specific molecule and locate by the synthetic biology method. In addition, by replacing the “brake component” in the synthetic circuit with ones with specific sensitivities, the bacteria can be engineered to locate in areas containing specific concentrations of the molecule. Measured by swarm assays qualitatively and microfluidic technique quantitatively, the characteristic of each “brake component” was identified and represented by a mathematical model. Furthermore, we established another mathematical model to anticipate the characteristic of the “brake component”. Based on this model, an abundant component library can be established to provide selection for different searching conditions without identifying all the components one by one. Finally, a systematic design procedure was proposed. Following the systematic procedure, one can design a genetic circuit to make bacteria search for specific molecule of specific concentration by selecting the most adequate “brake component” in the library. Moreover, following simple procedures, one can also establish one’s exclusive component library suitable for other cultivated environment, promoter systems or bacterial strains.