title: Reprogramming bacteria to seek and destroy an herbicide.
abstract: A major goal of synthetic biology is to reprogram cells to perform complex tasks. Here we show how a combination of in vitro and in vivo selection rapidly identifies a synthetic riboswitch that activates protein translation in response to the herbicide atrazine. We further demonstrate that this riboswitch can reprogram bacteria to migrate in the presence of atrazine. Finally, we show that incorporating a gene from an atrazine catabolic pathway allows these cells to seek and destroy atrazine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Fundamental and Applied Molecular Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Samuel J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: Justin P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gallivan
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000378:metabolism; D001280:Atrazine / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001483:Base Sequence; D002465:Cell Movement; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004983:Ethanolamines / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006540:Herbicides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004983:Ethanolamines; D006540:Herbicides; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D000096:Acetone; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D001280:Atrazine
references.citation: Chem Biol. 2004 Aug;11(8):1157-63
references.pmid: 15324817
references.citation: Chem Biol. 2007 Feb;14(2):173-84
references.pmid: 17317571
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2001 Jan 12;305(2):331-9
references.pmid: 11124909
references.citation: Science. 1990 Aug 3;249(4968):505-10
references.pmid: 2200121
references.citation: Annu Rev Biochem. 1975;44:341-56
references.pmid: 1094913
references.citation: Nature. 1990 Aug 30;346(6287):818-22
references.pmid: 1697402
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Jan;37(1):184-92
references.pmid: 19033367
references.citation: Science. 1994 Mar 11;263(5152):1425-9
references.pmid: 7510417
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Oct;37(18):e120
references.pmid: 19592423
references.citation: Science. 1966 Aug 12;153(3737):708-16
references.pmid: 4957395
references.citation: RNA. 1999 Oct;5(10):1308-25
references.pmid: 10573122
references.citation: Nature. 1991 Feb 14;349(6310):630-3
references.pmid: 2000137
references.citation: Chem Biol. 2007 Jan;14(1):9-11
references.pmid: 17254947
references.citation: Science. 1998 Oct 9;282(5387):296-8
references.pmid: 9765156
references.citation: Chem Biol. 1995 Aug;2(8):543-52
references.pmid: 9383458
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1996 Sep 24;35(38):12338-46
references.pmid: 8823168
references.citation: J Am Chem Soc. 2008 Dec 3;130(48):16310-5
references.pmid: 18998646
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998 Jan;64(1):178-84
references.pmid: 16349478
references.citation: Chembiochem. 2009 Sep 21;10(14):2375-81
references.pmid: 19658147
references.citation: Mol Syst Biol. 2006;2:2006.0008
references.pmid: 16738554
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2004 Mar 05;32(4):1610-4
references.pmid: 15004248
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009 Apr;75(7):2184-91
references.pmid: 19201959
references.citation: Curr Opin Microbiol. 2005 Apr;8(2):116-21
references.pmid: 15802240
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2006 Feb 3;355(5):923-32
references.pmid: 16359703
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1998 Apr;180(7):1951-4
references.pmid: 9537398
references.citation: BMC Biotechnol. 2002 Dec 4;2:21
references.pmid: 12466025
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1999 May 21;288(5):911-40
references.pmid: 10329189
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Apr;37(5):e39
references.pmid: 19190095
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2003 Jul 1;31(13):3406-15
references.pmid: 12824337
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1995 Apr;61(4):1451-7
references.pmid: 16534995
references.citation: Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Dec;5(12):1024-37
references.pmid: 15573139
references.citation: Chem Biol. 2009 Feb 27;16(2):173-80
references.pmid: 19246008
references.citation: Nat Genet. 2005 Jan;37(1):73-6
references.pmid: 15568024
references.citation: Mol Syst Biol. 2009;5:283
references.pmid: 19536206
references.citation: Bioorg Med Chem. 2001 Oct;9(10):2549-56
references.pmid: 11557342
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Sep 4;104(36):14283-8
references.pmid: 17709748
references.citation: Methods Mol Biol. 2008;419:53-67
references.pmid: 18369975
references.citation: Chembiochem. 2008 Jan 25;9(2):210-3
references.pmid: 18098254
references.citation: RNA. 2008 Jan;14(1):89-97
references.pmid: 18000033
references.citation: Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2002 Jan;58(1):39-45
references.pmid: 11831474
references.citation: J Am Chem Soc. 2007 May 30;129(21):6807-11
references.pmid: 17480075
references.citation: RNA. 2008 Dec;14(12):2498-503
references.pmid: 18945803
references.citation: Plant Biotechnol J. 2005 Sep;3(5):475-86
references.pmid: 17173634
references.citation: RNA. 2005 Apr;11(4):503-11
references.pmid: 15769877
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1996 Aug;178(16):4894-900
references.pmid: 8759853
references.citation: Biosystems. 2007 Jul-Aug;90(1):115-20
references.pmid: 16942834
references.citation: J Am Chem Soc. 2004 Oct 20;126(41):13247-54
references.pmid: 15479078
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2009 Mar;71(6):1451-63
references.pmid: 19210623