Project Description

IIT Madras has had a very successful history at previous iGEM competitions. Shiga toxin is a deadly toxin secreted by Shigella dysenteriae and other shigatoxigenic bacteria. These bacteria inhabit the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract of cattle and produce a biofilm on the walls of the tract which is essential for the secretion of the toxin. According to statistics, more than 1 million people have been killed by the lethal toxin and many more have been infected. There is no established cure for this harmful toxin till date and this motivated us to come up with a feasible solution to this global problem using synthetic biology. Our idea mainly focuses on: Inhibiting biofilm production. Neutralizing the already produced toxin. For the first part, we have identified a compound, indole-3-acetaldehyde (I3A), which is a potent biofilm inhibitor.