Team:Newcastle

Our Project

Our project focuses on the creation and applications of L-forms: bacteria that grow without a cell wall. We propose L-forms as a novel chassis for synthetic biology. Our principle BioBrick switches Bacillus subtilis cells between rod-shape and L-form.

We will use microfluidics to attempt genome shuffling and shape-shifting. It is easier to fuse bacteria without cell walls. Fusion will cause genetic recombination, allowing directed evolution. We will put L-forms in moulds to observe if they adopt different shapes.

L-forms exist symbiotically in plants, which we will visualise by growing GFP labelled L-forms inside seedlings. L-forms could be engineered to supply nutrients to their host. L-forms are osmotically sensitive, giving biosecurity that they lyse if they escape from the plant.

As outreach we reflected upon our project's implications with stakeholders, created a BioGame for the public and developed a workshop for those new to modelling. Finally, we evaluated the relationship between synthetic biology and architecture.

We have created a novel chassis for Synthetic Biology, one that is not hindered by its cell wall. These cells are called “L-Forms” or as we prefer to call them: naked bacteria. Even better, we’ve already begun putting them to good use!

Many of the interactions between engineering and biology, required in Synthetic Biology, would be made easier without the barrier of the cell wall. Bacteria with a cell wall are harder to get things into and out of, harder to fuse together and won’t mould into different shapes. Our main BioBrick allows us not only to remove the cell wall, but to turn it back on again at the flick of a switch, ensuring the bacterium’s dignity remains intact!

We can fuse L-forms together and recombine their genomes - our naked bacteria undergo sexual reproduction! ;) ! This can be used to shuffle genomes and perform directed evolution to produce bacteria with improved phenotypes.

L-forms have been shown inhabit plants, we didn’t want our naked bacteria to feel left out so we put them inside plants too. They could provide natural resistance to the plant from pathogens, and could be used to deliver useful molecules.

Naked bacteria cannot live outside of an osmotically suitable environment; as soon as they leave a plant or the lab, they’ll burst. They essentially have an in-built kill-switch. You won’t be finding any of our naked bacteria getting dirty in soil.