=The Problem=

                                   (Picture of S. aureus)

                                   S. aureus is one of the largest causes of hospital infections, each year infecting millions of people around the globe. 

                                   S. aureus is normally commensal, but can create bacterial biofilm on implanted medical devices and in post-operational wounds. 

                                   Biofilm formation, combined with resistancy to antibiotics in a growing number of S. aureus strains, is making S. aureus increasingly hard to treat. New ways for combating these bacteria could be immensely important. 

                                   Here we have tried to create a biological machine, capable of stopping the bacterial signalling necessary for biofilm formation to proceed.

                                   Continue reading about our project. 
                                   Read more about S. aureus, biofilm formation, quorum-sensing and quorum-quenching.

                                   =The Machine=

                                   (Picture of bandage-e-coli)

                                   We have created a simple biological machine that can inhibit biofilm formation, thereby making it easier to treat S. aureus.

                                   This was done by genetically engineering E. coli using the BioBrick standard. BioBricks are standardized gene parts and by using this standard, we have been able to profit from older parts and contribute with new parts for others to use in the future.

                                   Our main achievement is the RNA III-inhibiting-peptide (RIP) part. In this project we show (for the first time), that it’s possible to express RIP in E. coli and that it can obstruct the quorum-sensing process necessary for biofilm formation in S. aureus. 

                                   Continue reading about our project.

                                   Read more about our parts, and how we accomplished this project.

                                   =The Future=

                                   (Picture of Operation bandage)

                                   We propose making a bandage that contains our engineered bacteria behind a semipermeable membrane, allowing only small peptides such as RIP to pass through, into the wound.

                                   We have reason to hope, that this will weaken the biofilm, thereby making multiresistant bacteria easier to treat with conventional antibiotics.

                                   Also, our machine opens up for the possibility to combat infections more intelligently. A logical next step would be to couple other kinds of quorum-quenching molecules to our machine, together with different quorum-signaling receptors. This would allow for inhibition of only the bacteria that’s currently infecting the wound.

                                   Read more about the implications of our project.

                                   =About us=

                                   We are eight students from the University of Southern Denmark, who shared a common wish to explore synthetic biology and decided to start the first iGEM team at our university.

                                   We are from diverse backgrounds such as nano-bio-science, molecular biology and medicine.

                                   Together with six advisors, we are spending the summer getting to grips with the up’s and down’s in synthetic biology, the lab, how to organize the project and everything in between.

                                   Our Team | See what we're up to on our blog