Lana Sweeten-Shults , Times Record News 3:09 p.m. CT June 14, 2017
Researchers at MIT found a way to control bacteria using colored light. They projected images of such things as fruit onto culture plates using red, green and blue light, and the bacteria responded by producing the same colored pigment. The result is a kind of bacteria photocopy. One of the researchers who co-authored a paper about the technology is Felix Moser, a 2003 graduate of Wichita Falls High School.(Photo: Courtesy of Felix Moser)
Those pesky E. coli bacteria.
Engineered bacteria with multicolor vision formed this image of Mario from Super Mario Bros. Researchers at MIT projected images on culture plates using red, green and blue lights that bacteria emulated. One of the researchers who co-authored a paper about the technology is Felix Moser, a 2003 graduate of Wichita Falls High School.(Photo: Courtesy of Felix Moser)
Theyre the vexing microorganisms behind intestinal infections.
The troublesome, minuscule entities behind urinary tract infections.
When you hear about food poisoning outbreaks, some form of E.coli is often the culprit.
But, as it is, most types of E.coli are harmless.
And, if you ask biological engineer Felix Moser, a 2003 graduate of Wichita Falls High School who is now a scientist at start-up biotech company Synlife, theyre also pretty fascinating.
Moser is one of the co-authors, with fellow former Massachusetts Institute of Technology postdocs Jesus Fernandez-Rodriguez and Miryoung Song along withMIT professor Chris Voigt, of a paper that describes how researchers were able to create what Voigt has described as disco bacteria, though others might call them microbial Monets or Petri dish Ansel Adamses.
It was 12 years ago that these researchers started engineering bacteria to replicate black-and-white images bacterial photocopies, if you will by getting them to mirror the patterns of light projected onto a culture dish.
Now the researchers, whose groundbreaking work has been featured in MIT News, Nature Chemical Biology, The Economist and New Scientist, to name a few, have upped their game and introduced color to the mix.
Engineering cells to respond to light is not new, according to a May 25 article about these multicolor bacteriain The Economist. Other scientists have used optogeneticsto control nerve cells.
But former Wichitan Moser and his fellow researchers have engineered multicolor vision, not in nerve cells, butin E. coli, which are naturally blind, since they live in the very un-disco-like reaches of the intestine.
The researchers took these organisms and programmed them with a protein- and enzyme-based system, essentially, like they would a computer. They added 18 genes to the E.coli the black-and-white versions required adding only three extra genes with more than 46,000 base pairs of DNA. With these genes, the bacteria were ableto build three kinds of light sensors and can see red, green and blue.
While other scientists have controlled living cells using chemicals, Moser and his fellow scientists were able to tell the bacteria to create images of fruit and even Mario of Super Mario Bros. by shining colored light through a stencil onto a bacteria-coated plate. The E. coli, after all this human tinkering, produced enzymes that turn the bacteria into the same color of the light being shined on them.
So making pictures of bacteria its a nice example of how you would engineer them, said Moser in a phone interview about his teams disco bacteria. ... The genes tell the bacteria not only to respond to color but to turn on other genes. When the bacteria sees red light, it turns on a gene to make the red coloring.
The research shows how scientists can control cells and tell them what to do: We are engineering bacteria to respond in ways they would not normally respond.
Of course, this project, which was four years in the making, hasnt just been a fun time with bacteria.
The idea is that genetically altered bacteria could be made to produce drugs, artificial sweeteners or even perfumes.
Theres a company making perfume components, Moser said.
Instead of growing thousands upon thousands of roses to make perfume, cells could be engineered to reproduce those aromas.
The advantage would be that a lot of biological mass would be saved, sinceperfume companies wouldnt need to harvest all those roses. Also, chemicals could be made at much higher quantities.
Theres a team working on engineering salmonella to invade tumor cells and kill the tumor cells but thats really complex behavior, he said.
Moser, who was an Eagle Scout with Troop 138 growing up, ended up in Wichita Falls with his parents, who were both German citizens. His father was a T-37 instructor pilot at Sheppard Air Force Base.
He first became interested in science when he was a student at Wichita Falls High School.
Old High had a really great biology teacher, Dan Patrick. He did a fantastic job communicating his passions for science and biology, he said, and he might not have gone into the field without Mr. Patrick, he added, who would take students on summer trips to such places as Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Moser went on a couple of trips to South America with Patrick.
Moser did his undergraduate work at Cornell University. He wanted to join a research lab and ended up working with Cornell biochemist Dr. David Wilson.
I got really interested in using biotechnology to solve problems learning how to manipulate DNA to get organisms to do what we need them to do.
Moser got into graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, then followed his academic adviser, Chris Voigt, to MIT, where Voigt started a new lab. Its where he finished his doctoral degree and stayed to do postdoctoral work in synthetic biology, which is a newer term for genetic engineering.
Besides controlling bacteria using colored light, Moser has written DNA to get microorganisms to do other things.
Instead of engineering bacteria to respond to light, he has engineered them to respond to environmental stresses in big tanks, such as recognizing oxygen conditions and changing which genes turn on and off so they become more robust.
Its trying to engineer them to be smarter about how they grow.
He also has expanded on the color bacteria project.
Instead of turning on the genes that produce color, we're trying to get them to produce materials.
Moser said he has used light to prompt bacteria to produce biofilm, the slimy layer you might see hanging around on the surface of water.
Some biofilm is really important in medicine, he said of his appreciation for even slimy biofilm almost as much as his appreciation for those pesky, disco E. coli.
Follow Times Record News senior editor/reporter Lana Sweeten-Shults on Twitter @LanaSweetenShul.
Read or Share this story: http://wtrne.ws/2spZYqY
Link:
Former Wichitan engineers color-happy 'disco bacteria' - Times Record News
- Who are We? - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Vilsack targeted for his Pro-GMOs stand - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Call for technology to produce cellulosic ethanol - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Kenyan scientists weigh on GMOs - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Indian researcher makes a case for biotechnology - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Michigan smoothens the way for alternative energy investors - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Link of ethanol use to high food prices questioned - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- EU challenges France on GM Maize - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- POET rolls out cellulosic ethanol plant - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- There’s a bright future for cellulosic ethanol investment - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Cellulosic ethanol can considerably reduce gasoline use by 2030 - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - Background - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - History - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - Methods - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - Uses - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - Controversy - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - In popular culture - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human genetic engineering - An Introduction - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Human Genetic Engineering - A Very Hot Issue! - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- What are the risks of genetic engineering in humans? (human genetic engineering) - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- What are the benefits of human genetic engineering? (human genetic engineering) - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Genetic Engineering - Ethics and Controversy - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Genetic Engineering Ethics In Science Fiction - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Genetic Engineering Ethics - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Welcome to Pest Control Exterminator Network - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- OMD - Genetic Engineering - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- X-Ray Spex - Genetic Engineering - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Ancient Alien Nephilim, Giants, Mutants, Genetic Engineering, and Hybrids (2-6) - August 28th, 2011 [August 28th, 2011]
- Human-Plant Hybrid (Genetic Engineering at Home) - August 28th, 2011 [August 28th, 2011]
- Ancient Alien Nephilim, Giants, Mutants, Genetic Engineering, and Hybrids (1-6) - August 29th, 2011 [August 29th, 2011]
- 3. Genetic Engineering - August 29th, 2011 [August 29th, 2011]
- Genetic engineering nightmare - August 31st, 2011 [August 31st, 2011]
- Ancient Alien Nephilim, Giants, Mutants, Genetic Engineering, and Hybrids (3-6) - August 31st, 2011 [August 31st, 2011]
- Future of genetic engineering - by Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon. Genetic mutations and genetic disorders. Gene science by conference keynote speaker - September 2nd, 2011 [September 2nd, 2011]
- Genetic engineering: The world's greatest scam? - September 3rd, 2011 [September 3rd, 2011]
- Watch Fed Up! Genetic Engineering, Industrial Agriculture and Sustainable Alternatives Full Movie Online Part 1/15 - September 3rd, 2011 [September 3rd, 2011]
- Ancient Alien Nephilim, Giants, Mutants, Genetic Engineering, and Hybrids (5-6) - September 5th, 2011 [September 5th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering, Humans with Animals. - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Is Genetic Engineering Good for the Environment? - September 7th, 2011 [September 7th, 2011]
- Open Source Food and Genetic Engineering - Michael Pollan - September 10th, 2011 [September 10th, 2011]
- Ancient Alien ( demons ) Nephilim Giants, Mutants Genetic Engineering and Hybrids.avi - September 11th, 2011 [September 11th, 2011]
- MUST SEE : Genetic Engineering Corn Grows in Sand ! For Those That Appreciate Nature ! - September 12th, 2011 [September 12th, 2011]
- Designing Humanity - Genetic Engineering - September 14th, 2011 [September 14th, 2011]
- Genetic Modification | QUEEN ANNE SCIENCE CAFE - September 14th, 2011 [September 14th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering in California Agriculture - September 15th, 2011 [September 15th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering Animation - September 15th, 2011 [September 15th, 2011]
- Proof Of Ancient Genetic Engineering - September 15th, 2011 [September 15th, 2011]
- Joad Cressbeckler Fears Genetic Modification Causes 'Wrath-Minded Taters' - September 16th, 2011 [September 16th, 2011]
- Ethical Concerns With Genetic Engineering - September 16th, 2011 [September 16th, 2011]
- Scientists under Attack - Genetic Engineering in the magnetic Field of Money TRAILER - September 17th, 2011 [September 17th, 2011]
- Genetic Modification - September 18th, 2011 [September 18th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering Not a New Science - Pamela Ronald - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- The Island of Dr. Moreau prt. IV - September 28th, 2011 [September 28th, 2011]
- Ancient Alien Nephilim, Giants, Mutants, Genetic Engineering, and Hybrids (4-6) - September 30th, 2011 [September 30th, 2011]
- 4. Genetic Engineering (cont.) - October 2nd, 2011 [October 2nd, 2011]
- Ancient Alien Nephilim, Giants, Mutants, Genetic Engineering, and Hybrids (6-6) - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Islands at Risk (Part 3) - Genetic Engineering in Hawai'i - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Morgellons Is Genetic Engineering , A Silent Superbug - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Islands at Risk (Part 2) - Genetic Engineering in Hawai'i - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- The Ethics of Genetically Engineering Children - Arthur Caplan - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Disney Geneticists Debut New Child Stars - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering and Society, Lecture 1a, Honors Collegium 70A, UCLA - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- OMD - Genetic Engineering (312mm Version) (Audio Only) - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- The difference between normal and genetically modified food - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Bioethics Of Human Genetic Engineering - Documentary Video - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Islands at Risk (Part 1) - Genetic Engineering in Hawai'i - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Coast To Coast AM: Genetic Engineering 3-24-2011 Download Link - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Lloyd Pye - Ancient Genetic Engineering - October 13th, 2011 [October 13th, 2011]
- X RAY SPEX - ROUNDHOUSE LONDON GENETIC ENGINEERING - Video - October 13th, 2011 [October 13th, 2011]
- OMD - Genetic Engineering 1983 - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- OMD - GENETIC ENGINEERING - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- Mechanism of Recombination - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Harvard Prof. Michael Sandel on Human Genetic Modification, Berkeley, CA, 7 May 2007 - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering [Medical Ethics Series] - (excerpt) - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Genetic Engineering and Society, Lecture 1b, Honors Collegium 70A, UCLA - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Genomics: genetic modification (genetic engineering) and the human gene project - Video - October 26th, 2011 [October 26th, 2011]
- Genetically Engineering Intelligent Babies - Horizon: Are We Still Evolving? Preview - BBC Two - Video - October 27th, 2011 [October 27th, 2011]
- "GENETIC ENGINEERING" GERMAN REGIME feat THIRSTIN HOWL THE3RD - Video - October 28th, 2011 [October 28th, 2011]
- Science 360: Genetic Engineering - Video - October 31st, 2011 [October 31st, 2011]
- UFOTV Presents... - Bad Seed: Danger of Genetically Modified Food - Video - November 8th, 2011 [November 8th, 2011]