Team:CAU China/Description
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a major emerging threat as reported by the WHO1. Worldwide implementation of bacteriophage therapy, a 100-year old treatment employing the natural enemies of bacteria, is impeded by the lack of common manufacturing procedures which meet international quality and safety standards2. Based on synthetic biology we created Phactory, a cell-free molecular assembly line for bacteriophages. We demonstrate expression of several phages including T7, MS2 and 3S at clinically relevant concentrations. Exploiting the open nature of cell-free systems, Phactory enables modular composition of bacteriophages with engineered proteins while remaining GMO-free. We developed a quality control structure utilizing state-of-the-art bioinformatics, as well as purification and encapsulation protocols. To expand our production variety while reducing cost, we optimized and engineered home-made E. Coli cell-extract. Compared to traditional manufacturing procedures, Phactory requires 2.5% of the production volume and demands no special biosafety regulations to yield bacteriophages ready for therapy.