Difference between revisions of "Team:SDU-Denmark"
Deltaetabeta (Talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 178: | Line 178: | ||
<a href="https://www.regionsyddanmark.dk" target="_blank" class="sponsor-item"> | <a href="https://www.regionsyddanmark.dk" target="_blank" class="sponsor-item"> | ||
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2019/5/5c/T--SDU-Denmark--region-syddanmark.png" /> | <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2019/5/5c/T--SDU-Denmark--region-syddanmark.png" /> | ||
| − | </a> | + | </a> |
| + | <a href="https://www.browserstack.com" target="_blank" class="sponsor-item"> | ||
| + | <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2019/2/2a/T--SDU-Denmark--browserstack.png" /> | ||
| + | </a> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 11:02, 8 August 2019
Conjugaid
Antibiotic resistance:
A looming global threat
Antibiotic resistance has become a major threat to global health, to health care systems, and to the wellbeing of the people affected by it. Patients who have received treatment for an infection involving antibiotic resistant bacteria are at higher risk of being rehospitalized in isolation henceforth. This propensity arises due to the incomplete elimination of antibiotic resistant bacteria, which places the patients in a carrier state. Having patients in isolation is a huge financial burden to hospitals and to the health care systems across the world along with it being mentally straining on the patients. The current treatment option for patients with antibiotic resistant bacterial infections is unsustainable, since it is based on a last-resort class of antibiotics that kills the natural and essential biota of the patient. Moreover, the last-resort class of antibiotics has also succumbed to development of resistance. Therefore, we must come up with an alternative approach to how we combat antibiotic resistance and treat patients that carry resistant bacteria.
Sensitizing antibiotic resistant bacteria with CRISPR
We, the 2019 iGEM team of the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), have come up with a solution. By using synthetic biology we want to design a donor bacterium with a plasmid vector containing a CRISPR/Cas-system. This CRISPR/Cas-system will be designed to cut and thereby downregulate the expression of specific penicillin- or carbapenem-coding resistance genes. Post-ingestion, the donor bacteria will transfer the plasmid by conjugation to both non-resistant and resistant bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of the patient (see fig. 1 above). When the CRISPR/Cas-system is transferred to non-resistant bacteria it will have no effect as the single-guide RNA (sgRNA) will be specific to the resistance genes of interest. In contrast, when the plasmid is transferred to bacteria carrying the specific antibiotic resistance genes, the CRISPR/Cas-system will target them and downregulate their expression. As a result, the bacteria will become sensitive to antibiotics eliminating the antibiotic resistance carrier state of patients. Read more
What is iGEM?
The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition is the unofficial world championship of synthetic biology with more than 340 participating universities across 6 continents. The participating teams will each create a project in which they use synthetic biology to combat some of the leading global issues such as global warming, food scarcity and pollution. iGEM culminates with the "Giant Jamboree"; an incredible conference in Boston, USA where each team will present their project to the attendees and a set of judges through a poster session, an oral presentation, and a project webpage (the "wiki").
Our Team
We are 11 highly dedicated students from various faculties of science, that are on the fourth or sixth semesters of our bachelor. We have multiple supervisors that help and inspire us. We represent our university, University of Southern Denmark in Odense, at the 2019 iGEM competition. For us, iGEM is an extracurricular activity that we participate in besides our education. This means that we're always busy, but through our high dedication to resolving antibiotic resistance, great comradeship and an amazing work environment, we will stay motivated through our busy schedule!
Public Engagement
We believe that synthetic biology has the potential to create a better future by solving many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, it is imperative for us to engage the public and make them aware of its potential. We are doing so by communicating our knowledge to many Danish politicians. Furthermore, we are educating high school students in synthetic biology, GMO's and biotechnology through an e-book and exciting workshops.
Contact us!
Gallery
Sponsors & Partners
