Team:Hong Kong HKUST/Future possible applications
1. Expanding new technology in Containment Strategy
- Regulations & Safety
- Research of GMOs intended to release/test in nature
When researchers aim to expand their experimental application from a laboratory scale to a larger scale such as pilot study (small-scale field) or large-scale study, one concern is the safety of products produced from engineered organisms.
2. Sensor for horizontal gene transfer
GFP is a well-known reporter used by many iGEM teams and researchers. Such visual reporters have limited use in some context such as soils, because it can only work in the presence of oxygen and the color output can hardly be detected under layers of soils.
Recently, Rice University researchers have developed gas biosensors that can track the occurrence of horizontal gene transfer without disturbing the soil matrices. This discovery can further aid the study of soil environment and horizontal gene transfer i.e., how hydration affects horizontal gene transfer.
Using our construct as a proof of concept, we can study how to detect and prevent the release of engineered and constitutively expressed product at the same time. Moreover, this may also provide additional knowledge about the fitness of genetically modified organism comparative to the wild-type bacterium.
When horizontal gene transfer is detected, recombinase can knockout the gene of interest and later knock out the reporter gene after enough concentration of reporter is established.
This not only allow scientists to study horizontal gene transfer and bacterial interactions in a selected sample environment, but also to investigate the prevention of gene transfer between engineered and wild-type bacteria.
As extracting products from organisms require many purification steps and costly, it may be more favorable to be able to use engineered organisms equipped with safeguard system in the field.
3. Reduced allergenic response by immune system for transgene expression in eukaryotic cells (mammalian cells)
Hiroshi Ochiai (2010) reported that positive feedback system provides efficient transgene expression in Hela cells both in vitro and in vivo.
Additional papers regarding gene therapy suggested plasmid that lacks bacterial backbone due to recombination by site-specific recombination (such as minicircles) will improve efficiency of transgene, because host immune system will not reject entity containing foreign vectors such as bacteria.
The recombination of origin of replication and marker gene or antibiotic resistance gene can reduce allergic responses in an individual should the application be used in eukaryotic cells such as gene therapy.
4. Reduced GM pollens dissemination
The propagation of GM pollen by GM crops have been a major concern especially its effect on undesired gene flow. Transgene removal in pollen prior to its dissemination is, thus, a crucial step to prevent gene flow happens.
Our sensing module can be adjusted to detect specific stimulus and temporally produce protein of interest necessary for plants for a controlled period. Recombinase can then knockout gene of interest safely.
References
http://news.rice.edu/2016/07/18/gas-sensors-see-through-soil-to-analyze-microbial-interactions-2/ http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.6b01415
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/mp1000108
http://www.nature.com/gt/journal/v23/n8/full/gt201637a.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17177809
