From 2007.igem.org

The SMB: Synthetic Multicellular Bacterium

The aim of our project is to engineer the first synthetic multicellular bacterium, the SMB. This new organism is a novel tool for the engineering of complex biological systems. It consists in two interdependent cell lines. The first, dedicated to reproduction is the germ line (red cells in the simulation below). It is able to differentiate into the second line: the soma (green cells), which is sterile and dedicated to support the germ line. The germ line is auxotroph for DAP (diaminopimelate) which is provided by the soma. There is thus an interdependency relationship. The soma, being sterile, requires the germ line for its generation, while the germ line needs the soma to complement its auxotrophy. We provide here both experimental and computational evidences that this system can work, as well as the almost complete construction of the SMB.

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