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Programmable receptors enable bacterial biosensors to detect pathological biomarkers in clinical samples

Medicine and Health

Programmable receptors enable bacterial biosensors to detect pathological biomarkers in clinical samples

H. Chang, A. Zúñiga, et al.

Unlock the potential of bacterial biosensors with EMeRALD, a groundbreaking modular synthetic receptor platform developed by a team of innovative scientists. This research by Hung-Ju Chang, Ana Zúñiga, Ismael Conejero, and others showcases the detection of bile salts, crucial for liver dysfunction diagnosis, offering a colorimetric biosensor for immediate results. Join the journey into synthetic biology and transformative diagnostics!

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~3 min • Beginner • English
Abstract
Bacterial biosensors, or bastessons, are promising agents for medical and environmental diagnostics. However, the lack of scalable frameworks to systematically program ligand detection limits their applications. Here we show how novel, clinically relevant sensing modalities can be introduced into bastessons in a modular fashion. To do so, we have leveraged a synthetic receptor platform, termed EMeRALD (Engineered Modularized Receptors Activated via Ligand-induced Dimerization) which supports the modular assembly of sensing modules onto a high-performance, generic signaling scaffold controlling gene expression in E. coli. We apply EMeRALD to detect bile salts, a biomarker of liver dysfunction, by repurposing sensing modules from enteropathogenic Vibrio species. We improve the sensitivity and lower the limit-of-detection of the sensing module by directed evolution. We then engineer a colorimetric bastocensor detecting pathological bile salt levels in serum from patients having undergone liver transplant, providing an output detectable by the naked-eye. The EMeRALD technology enables functional exploration of natural sensing modules and rapid engineering of synthetic receptors for diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and control of therapeutic microbes.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Oct 26, 2021
Authors
Hung-Ju Chang, Ana Zúñiga, Ismael Conejero, Peter L. Voyvodic, Jerome Gracy, Elena Fajardo-Ruiz, Martin Cohen-Gonsaud, Guillaume Cambray, Georges-Philippe Pageaux, Magdalena Meszaros, Lucy Meunier, Jerome Bonnet
Tags
bacterial biosensors
synthetic receptors
EMeRALD
bile salts detection
liver dysfunction
synthetic biology
colorimetric biosensor
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