Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Nat Commun. 2023 Apr 10;14(1):2001. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37582-x.
DNA is a universal and programmable signal of living organisms. Here we develop cell-based DNA sensors by engineering the naturally competent bacterium Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) to detect specific DNA sequences in the environment. The DNA sensor strains can identify diverse bacterial species including major human pathogens with high specificity. Multiplexed detection of genomic DNA from different species in complex samples can be achieved by coupling the sensing mechanism to orthogonal fluorescent reporters. We also demonstrate that the DNA sensors can detect the presence of species in the complex samples without requiring DNA extraction. The modularity of the living cell-based DNA-sensing mechanism and simple detection procedure could enable programmable DNA sensing for a wide range of applications.
DNA 是生物体普遍存在且可编程的信号。在这里，我们通过工程化天然感受态细菌枯草芽孢杆菌（Bacillus subtilis）来开发基于细胞的 DNA 传感器，以检测环境中的特定 DNA 序列。这些 DNA 传感器菌株可以识别多种细菌物种，包括主要的人类病原体，具有很高的特异性。通过将传感机制与正交荧光报告基因耦合，可以实现复杂样品中不同物种基因组 DNA 的多重检测。我们还证明，该 DNA 传感器可以在无需 DNA 提取的情况下检测复杂样品中物种的存在。基于活细胞的 DNA 传感机制的模块化和简单的检测程序可以实现广泛应用的可编程 DNA 传感。
