Team:Shanghai Metro
ABSTRACT
Protecting patent biotechnological strains is usually a costly and time-consuming process. Aiming to provide a fast, practical, and inexpensive way to protect patent rights over registered strains, our team constructed a genetic tool that disables the strains if they’re replicated without authorization. This mechanism is developed based on the Type IV Secretion System (T6SS) of Gram-negative bacteria which would inject effectors to inhibit the growth of recipient cells. However, these effectors are inactive in the donor due to the presence of immune protein. In our project, the plasmid that constitutively expresses Tke (effctor) was transformed into E. coli, and the immune factor Ike is induced by tetracycline. After several tests, a suitable concentration of inducer that effectively disables the defense system was determined, which allowing the normal multiplication of the E. coli.