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    Synthetic Biology and the Gut Microbiome

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    Author
    Dou, Jennifer
    Bennett, Matthew R.
    Date
    2017
    Citation
    Dou, Jennifer and Bennett, Matthew R.. "Synthetic Biology and the Gut Microbiome." Biotechnology Journal, (2017) https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201700159.
    Published Version
    https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201700159
    Abstract
    The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining human health. Functions performed by gastrointestinal microbes range from regulating metabolism to modulating immune and nervous system development. Scientists have attempted to exploit this importance through the development of engineered probiotics that are capable of producing and delivering small molecule therapeutics within the gut. However, existing synthetic probiotics are simplistic and fail to replicate the complexity and adaptability of native homeostatic mechanisms. In this review, the ways in which the tools and approaches of synthetic biology have been applied to improve the efficacy of therapeutic probiotics, and the ways in which they might be applied in the future is discussed. Simple devices, such as a bistable switches and integrase memory arrays, have been successfully implemented in the mammalian gut, and models for targeted delivery in this environment have also been developed. In the future, it will be necessary to introduce concepts such as logic-gating and biocontainment mechanisms into synthetic probiotics, as well as to expand the collection of relevant biosensors. Ideally, this will bring us closer to a reality in which engineered therapeutic microbes will be able to accurately diagnose and effectively respond to a variety of disease states.
    Keyword
    biosensors; engineered microbes; engineered probiotics; microbiome therapeutics
    Type
    Journal article
    Citable link to this page
    http://hdl.handle.net/1911/98818
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    • Bioengineering Publications [397]
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    Managed by the Digital Scholarship Services at Fondren Library, Rice University
    Physical Address: 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005
    Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O.BOX 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892