Bacteria Become "Genomic Tape Recorders", Recording Chemical Exposures in their DNA
Engineers at MIT have transformed the genome of E. coli into
a long-term storage device for memory. Storing memory in bacterial genomes has
been attempted before but previously has had little success and could
only measure whether a memory of a chemical exposure occurred or not. In this method, how much exposure
there was and how long the exposure occurred can now also be recorded. In order
for E. coli to store memory researchers engineered the cells to produce a recombinase enzyme which can insert DNA or a
specific sequence of single-stranded DNA into a targeted site. This DNA is activated
by the presence of light, and once the DNA is produced the recombinase
inserts the DNA into the cell's genome at a pre-programmed site. When an
exposure is recorded the memory is stored for the lifetime of the bacterial
population and is passed on to each generation. To determine how
much exposure there was and how long it lasted researchers can measure the proportion of cells in the population
that have the new DNA sequence. Information can also be erased by stimulating the cells to incorporate a
different piece of DNA in the same spot, but this method has not been perfected
yet with minor flaws.
There are many plans as to what
these new “tape recorders” can be used for. Environmentally the bacteria could
be used to monitor the ocean for carbon dioxide levels, pollutants, or acidity.
There are also plans to put the bacteria inside of the human digestive tract to
record inflammation, for victims of illnesses such as irritable bowel disease,
and dietary intake, to track the amount
of sugar and fat being consumed.
I found this article interesting
more because of its uses although the research and effort put into the process
is equally as intriguing. I am excited about the use of the bacterial “tape
recorders” to hopefully monitor oceans and allow the scientific community to
continue to care for them as much as they can in their power. The use of the
bacteria would also be beneficial when put in the human digestive tract in
order to give doctors information which will ultimately help their patients.
Another intriguing point for me was that the memory on the genomes can even be
erased by simply placing a separate piece of DNA in its spot.
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