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Team:LMU-Munich/Project/Problem
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Revision as of 21:27, 9 October 2014
What's the problem?
Antimicrobial resistance
Life-threatening pneumonia, deadly wound infections - what sounds like a scenario from the 19th century is turning into an increasingly realistic future, as the weapons we have at command to fight such diseases are getting blunt.
Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms like bacteria or viruses and were mostly impossible to cure a hundred years ago. The discovery of penicillin in the late 1920s gave rise to a completely new class of medicines, so called antimicrobials, which allowed for the first time selective targeting of microorganisms, in case of antibiotics specifically bacteria. In the following decades, development of a wide range of antimicrobials enabled successful treatment of formerly life-threatening diseases and significantly increased global health and life expectancy.
However, fighting microorganisms has never been a completed task but rather an always ongoing race between drug development and pathogen evolution, a race in which microorganisms are more and more taking the lead. Resistance of bacteria against all known antibiotics are no longer gloomy visions of the future but already detected in some of the most widespread genera [1, 2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) even warns of a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections once again become deadly threats, if no efficient countermeasures are taken within the next years [3].
Team LMU-Munich
igem@bio.lmu.de
AG Thorsten MascherGroßhaderner Str. 2
82152 Planegg (Martinsried)
Hi there!
Welcome to our Wiki! I'm BaKillus, the pathogen-hunting microbe, and I'll guide you on this tour through our project. If you want to learn more about a specific step, you can simply close the tour and come back to it anytime you like. So let's start!
What's the problem?
First of all, what am I doing here? The problem is, pathogenic bacteria all around the world are becoming more and more resistant against antimicrobial drugs. One major reason for the trend is the inappropriate use of drugs. With my BaKillus super powers, I want to reduce this misuse and thus do my part to save global health.
Sensing of pathogens
To combat the pathogenic bacteria, I simply eavesdrop on their communication. Bacteria talk with each other via quorum sensing systems, which I use to detect them and trigger my responses.
Adhesion
The more specific and effective I can use my powers, the lower the danger is of provoking new resistance development. So I catch pathogens whenever I get hold of them and stick to them until my work is done.
Killing
Talking about my work - killing pathogens is finally what I am made for. In response to quorum sensing molecules of the pathogens, I export a range of antimicrobial substances leading to dissipation of biofilms and the killing of the targeted bacteria.
Suicide switch
When the job is done and all the bad guys are finished, you don't need a super hero anymore. So after fulfilling my work I say goodbye to the world by activating my suicide switch.
Application
Of course I'm not only a fictional hero, but a very real one. In two different prototypes, I could be used for diagnosis or treatment of pathogen-caused diseases. However, there is still a whole lot of regulational and economical questions that have to be answered before.
See you!
So now you know my short story - and it is time for me to return to my fight for a safer world. Feel free to take a closer look on my super powers, the process of my development or the plans for a medical application.
