BeQuIK (Biosensor Engineered Quorum Induced Killing): designer bacteria for destroying recalcitrant biofilms

In Silico Approach Gives Insights into Ig-like Fold Containing Proteins in Vibrio parahaemolyticus: A Focus on the Fibrillar Adhesins

Immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) fold domains are abundant on the surface of bacteria, where they are required for cell-to-cell recognition, adhesion, biofilm formation, and conjugative transfer. Fibrillar adhesins are proteins with Ig-like fold(s) that have filamentous structures at the cell surface, being thinner and more flexible than pili. While the roles of fibrillar adhesins have been proposed in bacteria overall, their characterization in Vibrio parahaemolyticus has not been established and, therefore, understanding about fibrillar adhesins remain limited in V. parahaemolyticus. This in silico analysis can aid in the systematic identification of Ig-like-folded and fibrillar adhesin-like proteins in V. parahaemolyticus, opening new avenues for disease prevention by interfering in microbial interaction between V. parahaemolyticus and the host.

Quorum Sensing Communication: Molecularly Connecting Cells, Their Neighbors, and Even Devices

Quorum sensing (QS) is a molecular signaling modality that mediates molecular-based cell–cell communication. Prevalent in nature, QS networks provide bacteria with a method to gather information from the environment and make decisions based on the intel. With its ability to autonomously facilitate both inter- and intraspecies gene regulation, this process can be rewired to enable autonomously actuated, but molecularly programmed, genetic control. On the one hand, novel QS-based genetic circuits endow cells with smart functions that can be used in many fields of engineering, and on the other, repurposed QS circuitry promotes communication and aids in the development of synthetic microbial consortia. Furthermore, engineered QS systems can probe and intervene in interkingdom signaling between bacteria and their hosts. Lastly, QS is demonstrated to establish conversation with abiotic materials, especially by taking advantage of biological and even electronically induced assembly processes; such QS-incorporated biohybrid devices offer innovative ways to program cell behavior and biological function.