2010 iGEM team at MIT
An incredible effort combined the strengths of synthetic biology, protein engineering, and computational tools to take home the Best in Heath and Medicine prize and a Gold medal. Read the story of how it happened.
Team Members
- Jeff Johnson
- Chris Eiben
- Tomas Huber
- Ivan Huang
- Peixian Liu
- Denny Luan
- Cindy Wu
- Sean Wu
- David Zong
- Laura Austin
- Matt Coyne
- Justin De Leon
- Matthew Harger
- Jesa Landis
Advisors
- Matt Smith – Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Ingrid Swanson – Microbiology
- Rob Egbert – Electrical Engineering
- Michal Galdzicki – Biomedical and Health Informatics
- Justin Siegel – Biomolecular Structure and Design
Faculty
- David Baker – Biochemistry
- Eric Klavins – Electrical Engineering
- Joseph Mougous – Microbiology
- Herbert Sauro – Bioengineering
The Project: Antibiotics for the 21st Century
Probiotic Delivers a Toxin Specifically to Pathogens
While vital to our quality of life, traditional antibiotics face the serious problems of widespread bacterial resistance and destruction of natural gut flora – problems which call for improved twenty-first century antibiotics. Using synthetic biology tools, we designed, built, and tested two new systems to fight infections by both broad types of bacteria – Gram-positive and Gram-negative. Our first project targetsBacillus anthracis, the Gram-positive pathogen that causes anthrax. We re-engineered an enzyme to remove the pathogen’s protective coating, rendering it defenseless against the immune system. In our second project, we re-engineered and transplanted a protein secretion system capable of combating Gram-negative bacteria into E. coli. This system was designed to target Gram-negative pathogens in a modular and controllable fashion. These two systems are the vanguard of a new era of antibiotics using the power of nature harnessed with the tools of synthetic biology.
Re-engineered CapD to degrade coat of anthrax
Winnings
Gold Medal
Best Health and Medicine Project 2010