A stabilized microbial ecosystem of self-limiting bacteria using synthetic quorum-regulated lysis.

Microbial ecologists are increasingly turning to small, synthesized ecosystems as a reductionist tool to probe the complexity of native microbiomes. Concurrently, synthetic biologists have gone from single-cell gene circuits to controlling whole populations using intercellular signalling. The intersection of these fields is giving rise to new approaches in waste recycling, industrial fermentation, bioremediation and human health.

Quorum Sensing Communication Modules for Microbial Consortia.

The power of a single engineered organism is limited by its capacity for genetic modification. To circumvent the constraints of any singular microbe, a new frontier in synthetic biology is emerging: synthetic ecology, or the engineering of microbial consortia. Here we develop communication systems for such consortia in an effort to allow for complex social behavior across different members of a community.

Dynamic T cell-APC interactions sustain chronic inflammation in atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized arteries characterized by leukocyte accumulation in the vessel wall. Both innate and adaptive immune responses contribute to atherogenesis, but the identity of atherosclerosis-relevant antigens and the role of antigen presentation in this disease remain poorly characterized. We developed live-cell imaging of explanted aortas to compare the behavior and role of APCs in normal and atherosclerotic mice.