Proof of Principle: Gut Diagnostic (IMAGE)

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard

Proof of Principle: Gut Diagnostic

Caption

Inspired by Nature, the team engineered E. coli to sense, record and remember an environmental signal in the gut -- and also demonstrated that they can survive and function within complex environments such as the mammalian gut. This work lays the foundation for the use of engineered probiotic bacteria that serve as living diagnostics. In this schematic engineered probiotic E. coli have colonized the mammalian intestine and "remember" exposure to an environmental signal, which is indicated by the cells turning blue in color.

Credit

Jonathan Kotula, Harvard's Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School

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Credit: Jonathan Kotula, Harvard’s Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School

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