“The researchers tweaked the genes that allow P. aeruginosa to detect other members of its species and put this synthetic genetic code into E. coli’s genome. They also gave E. coli a gene for making a modified pyocin that is toxic to P. aeruginosa. By linking the pyocin gene to the sensing genes, the researchers ensured that when the E. coli detected P. aeruginosa in the vicinity, it would fill itself with large amounts of pyocin and become a biological time bomb.”
Really clever construction of a microbe that senses a pathogen, accumulates the toxin to kill it, and then explodes to release the toxin. A good first version and should be interesting to see how the tool develops.
