DISCOVER AFLAXOFF

Imagine picking up a vibrant, fresh fruit from the market. It looks perfect, but what you can’t see is that it might be contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a toxin produced mainly by fungi of the genus Aspergillus. This toxin, often found in cereals and fruits, poses serious risks to public health and can cause significant losses in the food industry.

Although the amounts in daily food are usually small and within legal limits, repeated ingestion can lead to an accumulation of its effects in the body. Over time, this increases the risk of liver cancer, a major health concern linked to long-term AFB1 exposure.

Once AFB1 is ingested through contaminated food, the toxin begins a harmful journey inside the body. First, it is absorbed in the intestines and quickly enters the bloodstream. From there, it is transported to the liver, the body's main detoxifying organ. In the liver, AFB1 is metabolized into a highly reactive compound called AFB1-exo 8,9-epoxide, which is responsible for its genotoxic effects. This metabolite can bind to DNA, causing mutations and potentially leading to liver cancer.

By engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we allow it to work as a biosensor, producing a visually identificable reporter upon detecting AFB1. This clear signal during food production enables early contamination detection, preventing the distribution of affected products.

Additionally, the engineered yeast seeks to capture AFB1 in the intestines of people and animals, preventing AFB1 absorption and tackling the issue at its core. In this case, we would use a strain of yeast that acts as a probiotic, such as S. cerevisiae var. boulardii. By blocking the toxin from entering the bloodstream, this probiotic protects public health and addresses contamination in animal feed.

It is by making AflaxOFF a dual-purpose solution that we can safeguard both the food industry and consumers from aflatoxin contamination.

But hey! Even though our technical work focuses on the project AflaxOFF itself, UMA-MALAGA goes beyond that. We really want to make sure that social issues are covered and given the importance they deserved, and thus, we invite you to explore in detail our following pages:

Inclusivity

Intellectual disabilities are no joke and must never be overlooked. Regarding this statement, we decided to promote the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in mainstream science by developing joyful activities that stimulate their curiosity and allow them to ask questions and carry out experiments without them feeling judged. We hope you enjoy the work we did!

Education

Synthetic biology is booming, and therefore, it cannot only stay in the laboratories. We carried out an exhaustive work to develop tools that make everybody, regardless of their age, learn about synthetic biology. Among the things we did, you can find a video game about the work done by a synthetic biology team and a children's book that adapts the plot of the videogame for the youger generations. Don't miss them out!