Engineering microbes to kill pathogens

The document describes engineering E. coli to detect and degrade Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Specifically, E. coli was engineered with three modules: 1) directed motility using a chemoreceptor that directs the bacteria toward P. aeruginosa quorum sensing molecules, 2) antibiofilm activity using the enzyme DNase I to degrade the biofilm matrix, and 3) antibacterial activity through expression of the antimicrobial peptide microcin which kills P. aeruginosa. Experiments showed the engineered E. coli migrated toward and degraded P. aeruginosa biofilms more effectively than wildtype E. coli through these three modules of directed motility, antibiofilm activity, and antibacterial activity. Limitations and future work are also discussed.