Moderation is best in all things.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are small molecules which contain oxygen, including radicals like superoxide (O₂⁻•) and hydroxyl radical (OH•), as well as non-radical molecules like hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂).
At normal levels, ROS trigger essential signaling pathways, aid in fighting pathogens, and regulate cell growth and death.
However, when ROS levels become excessive, they turn destructive. They can damage proteins, altering their functions; cause DNA mutations, changing gene expression; and destroy cell membranes, disrupting cellular integrity.
The excess of ROS can be captured as a high-pass signal, harnessing this disease-
side-effect as a timely and local marker for various health applications, and even research.
We have chosen to develop a cross-species platform to enable ROS-sensing in many settings.
Compatible microbiota agents will be engineered, such as bacteria and yeast, which are both
naturally part of many bigger organisms. We aim to tailor their natural ROS-sensing ability to
our purpose.
Cells possess regulatory proteins called transcription factors, which can regulate gene expression by binding to promoter regions on DNA. The activity of these factors can be dependent on various environmental conditions, such as oxidative stress (induced by ROS). By engineering the DNA sequence of the promoter regions, where these factors bind, we can tune the sensitivity of our system. We would be able to achieve expression of our chosen effector gene only for high levels of ROS, while ignoring homeostatic baseline levels.
This new, high-ROS tuned promoter system can be used as a targeted sensor of infection (case study: fireblight) or inflammation (case study: IBD). We can combine this sensor system with effector genes of choice, such as antioxidants or antimicrobial compounds.
We aim to provide a versatile theranostic platform designed to target high-ROS-associated infections and diseases in both humans and plants, integrating localized high-ROS sensing with disease-specific treatment delivery.
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