Imperial/Infector Detector/Conclusion
From 2007.igem.org
Contents |
Conclusion
Future Work
Battle a spectrum of infections
The great potential of Infector detector is that it is not limited to just one infection. Adding sensitivity to AHL originating from biofilms is just the beginning. By tweaking the internal mechanisms of the construct, Infector Detector can be used to battle a range of catheter-related bacteremias including MRSA.
Added control - Construct 2
The main advantage of using construct 2 (ADD LINK HERE) is that it provides an additional control mechanism for our detector meaning that you can tweak the detector sensitivity.
Going into deeper detail, construct 1 can produce LuxR as soon as it is activated. LuxR's presence is necessary for the formation of AHL-LuxR complex and the subsequent activation of pLux (leading to GFP production). Construct 2 on the other hand does not have a LuxR producing part. It relies on the user to add the necessary LuxR to form the binding complex. This control over LuxR can thus act as a sort of attenuator to the sensitivity of Infector Detector.
Having little LuxR present, will form very little binding complex with AHL and thus the sensitivity will decrease significantly. Saturating the detection compound with LuxR will maximise the sensitivity. Briefly, if we want to detect only highly progressed infections, we add little LuxR. If we want to detect infections with minimum progression, we saturate with AHL.
Thus construct 2 can be used as a sensitivity attenuator.
