E. Coli, an autotrophic bacterium?

A common practice in today’s world is synthesizing bacteria to produce compounds for medicine, energy, and more. One of the most common examples is synthetic Escherichia Coli that has been modified to produce insulin. This method has proven to be highly effective, however there can still be improvements. One such improvement involves the fact that E. Coli is a heterotrophic bacterium, that is, they must eat sugars in order to survive. This can become costly to maintain. One solution to this, is using autotrophic bacteria. Which survive off water and carbon dioxide, through photosynthesis. However, these bacteria have proven difficult to engineer.

So, Ron Milo, a synthetic biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, thought of a fascinating solution. We already have E. Coli that produce desired compounds. So why not make E. Coli an autotrophic bacterium? This is exactly what So, Ron Milo and his team have sought out to do. Instead of making E. Coli a true autotroph, enabling it to undergo photosynthesis. The team inserted a gene into E. Coli’s genome which enables it to eat formate, a simple carbon-containing compound. Which is then converted into ATP, providing energy for the E. Coli. This alone did not provide the desired results. Several other genes which encoded for metabolism enzymes were knocked out to prevent normal energy production.

Again, this was not all that had to be done. Through a starvation process over many generations, formate was increasingly introduced. While sugars were slowly reduced, until the bacteria could solely survive off formate. By combining selective breeding and genetic engineering, So, Ron Milo and colleagues created an E. Coli strain which survives off a carbon containing compound. Eliminating the need to “feed” the bacteria sugars. As far as genetic engineering goes, I find this very interesting. This research has opened many doors to future possibilities for bacterium engineering. Possibly making resource production cheaper. We all like cheaper fuels and medicine!

Link to Article: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/microbe-no-longer-needs-eat-food-grow-thanks-bit-genetic-engineering

Related Article: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/lab-evolved-e--coli-makes-energy-solely-from-carbon-dioxide-66788

Amarilis Bello-Solano

Scientists are Just Beginning to Understand Mysterious DNA Circles Common in Cancer Cells

      For many years scientists have tried to discover different ways to attack cancer and now a new discovery in DNA may lead scientists to the right direction or at least help understand how to attack them. Researchers are taking an extra close look in the loops that are in DNA. These loops are have been seen in cancer cells and play an important role in them. Since 1960 these circles had been recognized, in these circles there were clumps of DNA that were seen to be unimportant because the tools that were needed to thoroughly examine them were not available. Later on scientists were able to create techniques to examine DNA in the circles. 

        Dr.Chang, Dr. Mischel and their colleagues discovered that the DNA on the circles are much more active than DNA on chromosomes, they were at least three times more active. The cells with the DNA circles also divide differently than healthy cells. The split of the DNA circles are not equal, the amount of circles that end up in each new cell is completely random. One cell may inherit all of the circles while the other cell does not inherit any of them. It was discovered by Dr.Mischel and other researchers that the cells that inherited more circles increased the speed of a cell’s growth. Cancer can grow at a rapid rate because of this. Researchers believe if they find a way to eliminate these circles then it is a way to attack cancer. 

       Studies have also shown that these DNA circles have also been found in healthy cells but there was a difference found between cancer cells and healthy cells. The circles in healthy cells are much smaller and only containing 25,000 base pairs while cancer cells have larger circles with a million base pairs. It is believed that the size of the loops is what determined the threat of cancer. A bigger loop had a higher risk of cancer because it could house a cell that could grow faster.  

          This article was very interesting because it showed how the DNA in the circles were much more active than DNA in chromosomes. I thought it was good that researchers were now able to thoroughly examine the DNA in the circles because now they were a step closer in finding ways to attack cancer cells. This article gives hope that we are on the right track on discovering ways to cure cancer. 

Links:

Scientists are Just Beginning to Understand Mysterious DNA Circles Common in Cancer Cells

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/science/dna-genetics-cancer.html

Vicious circles: Ring-shaped DNA provides cancer cells with a malignant twist

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191120131347.htm

Gene therapy for unborn babies

The Guardian posted an article about doctor's using CRISPR to treat a rare brain disorder in unborn babies. The gene therapy they are using could mend the mutations in the womb that causes Angelman Syndrome. The treatment has never been tested before but it would involve the doctor's injecting a virus into the brain that infects the neurons and delivers molecules to correct the genetic faults. The disorder can be detected at 10 weeks and has been tested on a brain cell grown in a dish.  It is suggested that the procedure will be best performed in the second trimester. Normal brain development gene comes from UBE3A where the gene from the mother is "on" and from the father is silenced. During development the gene from the mother is missing or mutated, so the CRISPR technology turns the father's gene "on".
Angelman syndrome affects one in 15,000 births and the children often experience seizures, along with difficulty sleeping and walking. I believe that once this is tested more that it would greatly improve the lives of many children. The testing could be better if doctor's were able to actually use the CRISPR technology on babies in the womb but due to the uncertainty I understand why the testing is only done on mice. Hopefully within the next few years this technology and syndrome can be handled and cured or at least be a treatment for children already suffering from the syndrome. 

New Genetic Markers Can Indicate Lifespan

New Genetic Markers Can Indicate Lifespan



Researchers from the Swiss Institute of Biochemistry, the Lausanne University Hospital, the University of Lausanne, and the EPFL have identified 16 genetic markers associated with a decreased lifespan. About 10% of the population has some configuration of these markers. Changes in locations in an individual’s DNA sequence, like single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs), could affect lifespan. When indicating genes, the researchers prioritized changes in the DNA which are known to be linked to age-related disease. Three genes could act as biomarkers for an increase of lifespan are RBM6, SULT1A1 and CHRNA5 lower brain expression of three genes neighboring the SNP. This article is interesting because it indicates a way for scientist to calculate lifespans. This idea brings up the moral/ethical questions should scientist look into individual’s lifespan and if scientist can calculate lifespan should individuals be informed of their approximate lifespans?

CRISPR: The Invasive Species

CRISPR is a relatively new technique for genome engineering that targets certain parts of genes and edits DNA in very precise locations. CRISPR uses RNA molecules (crRNAs) and enzymes (specifically Cas9) that bind to DNA and "cuts" it at a precise location in order to turn off the gene that was once activated. Scientists have been in the works of trying to figure out how to use CRISPR for curing diseases and for creating better crops, however there has not been much luck with it. While trialing the effects of CRISPR on an invasive species, it ended up completely wiping out other species. According to the article, scientists are calling CRISPR an invasive species, because it turns out that the altered genes were spreading from the invasive species to other parts of the ecosystem. Since this has become an issue, scientists are looking for other ways to help endangered species, that are not as risky. With that being said, scientists have determined that CRISPR is not safe to use within the environment as of today. Despite this, it is possible for CRISPR to become a way to eradicate diseases such as malaria, because it might be possible to cause genes to "self destruct" on themselves after they are genetically engineered with CRISPR. These self-destructed genes would then die off after several generations, but it would spread very quickly, and the genes that cause malaria would not be there anymore.
I am very interested in genetic engineering and how it is quickly evolving. I think that this field of study is very important because there is a possibility that we will be able to cure or eradicate diseases that have been a problem for our species for generations. CRISPR is a brand new technique for genetic engineering, and it is going to take a long time for it to become a proper technique that can be used within the environment and regularly for humans. Like how the article suggests, I think that we should come up with safer techniques that are not as likely to cause massive problems within the genomes of species including our own. I think that this is a great step in the right direction for scientists to figure out a way to wipe out diseases, but I think that within time we will be able to find an even better technique.

Small Worm Shows Why Its So Hard To Quit Smoking!

       To begin, I found this article extremely interesting because studies on a small worm are offering clue's to why it's so hard to quit smoking. The study has been taking place at the University of Michigan. They have discovered that a genetic mechanism that has been dismissed before is hinting to have to do with a nicotine dependence. In the study they use  millimeter long worms and study they nictotine dependency. Like humans, they have similar behavior and get hooked as well. They have identified specific genes, including an mRNA that codes for the nicotine dependency. "We're seeing a clear link between nicotine, microRNA, the receptor proteins, and nicotine-dependent behavior," said Jianke Gong, a researcher in lab. 
     I think this is a great step for further genetic research in drug dependency research. It will help find out how exactly the dependency happens in the body of humans and will help in medical research as well. 

University of Michigan. "Tiny worms may offer new clues about why it's so hard to quit
       smoking." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 November 2017. 
       <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171107122922.htm>.

The Difference Between Genes of the Elderly and Young

The article "Elderly Chromosomes Activate Genes Differently Than in the Young" explains how not only does the appearance of an elderly person wrinkle and sag as they age, their genes also go through the same changes.  As the genes grow older, they tend to wrinkle and curl up.  This coiling that they do makes the DNA within them harder to access.  Our genes get damaged over the course of our lives.  We age because our genes work less and less sufficiently as we get older. UConn Health and JAX-GM did a study on how the immune system cells change as someone gets older. It ended up showing that the genes that help differentiate the T-Cells in our bodies (the genes that defend us from viruses like the flu) are more open in the younger ages so the genes are accessible.

I have heard about this concept before, but was not sure how it all made sense. After reading this article, it is clear that genes do in fact age with us, leaving problems with our immune system and our whole body in general.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171031135710.htm

http://genetics.thetech.org/original_news/news93