Synthetic Biologists Extend Functional Life of Cancer Fighting Circuitry in Microbes (IMAGE)
Caption
This is a still image pulled from UC San Diego video from three-strain co-culture experiments of E. coli. The video the image is from demonstrates autonomous cycling of the researchers' synchronized lysis circuit (SLC) that causes microbe population lysis once a threshold population density is reached. Image taken at 10X magnification. The three strains are mixed prior to loading into the microfluidic device. Strains compete until a single strain remains in each trap. This image is tied to the paper "Rock-paper-scissors: Engineered population dynamics increase genetic stability" published in the 6 September issue of the journal Science by M.J. Liao et al. This image is from research from the bioengineers at the University of California San Diego who have developed a method to significantly extend the life of gene circuits used to instruct microbes to do things such as produce and deliver drugs, break down chemicals and serve as environmental sensors.
Credit
University of California San Diego / Michael Liao
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photo credit required: University of California San Diego / Michael Liao
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