Notebook

Team UOregon — HGT: Hostile Gene Transfer

We are developing an E. coli Nissile 1917 (EcN) based therapeutic to selectively target and destroy GI tract pathogens. It is a precise, modular, alternative to small-molecule antibiotics. Our first target is Helicobacter pylori, a stomach pathogen infecting more than 50% of humans. We bind to surface proteins present on our target and conjugate a malicious DNA payload into our target cell. We've engineered our strain to survive in the stomach by upregulating the glutamate-dependent acid resistance using GadE (BBa_K1639002). We are also expressing a biofilm with functionalized curli monomers to further enhance acid fitness. Conjugation occurs using a modified RP4 "helper" plasmid that doesn't transmit itself, allowing us to safely transfer a separate plasmid coding for our payload without transmitting conjugation machinery. Our team also developed EZBinder, a one-click binder design software that creates high-quality protein-protein binders without requiring previous experience with computer science or protein design.

Contact

1505 Franklin Blvd., Room 344
Eugene, OR 97403, USA
Email: igem@uoregon.edu

The repository used to create this website is available at gitlab.igem.org/2023/uoregon.