Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Synthetic biology: A probiotic probe for inflammation

Nature Biomedical Engineering volume 1, Article number: 0097 (2017) Cite this article

Subjects

Genetically modified bacteria provide a long-lasting record of intestinal inflammation in mice.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A probiotic ‘memory stick’ for the gut environment detects and memorizes inflammation flare-ups through a built-in genetic sensor that can be detected in faeces.

References

  1. Zeller, G. et al. Mol. Syst. Biol. 10, 766 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Riglar, D. T. et al. Nat. Biotechnol.http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1038/nbt.3879 (2017).

  3. Kamdar, K. et al. Cell Host Microbe 19, 21–31 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kotula, J. W. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 4838–4843 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Pardee, K. et al. Cell 165, 1255–1266 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Schukur, L., Geering, B., Charpin-El Hamri, G. & Fussenegger, M. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 318ra201 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ausländer, D. et al. Nat. Commun. 5, 4408 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Danino, T. et al. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 289ra84 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Brenner, M., Cho, J. H. & Wong, W. W. Nat. Chem. Biol. 13, 131–132 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Siuti, P., Yazbek, J. & Lu, T. K. Nat. Biotechnol. 31, 448–452 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Thaiss, C. A. et al. Nature 540, 544–551 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Rössger, K., Charpin-El-Hamri, G. & Fussenegger, M. Nat. Commun. 4, 2825 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bai, P. et al. J. Hepatol. 65, 84–94 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Bongaerts, G. P. & Severijnen, R. S. Nat. Biotechnol. 34, 55–63 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Xie, M. et al. Science 354, 1296–1301 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, CH-4058, Switzerland

    Ferdinand Sedlmayer & Martin Fussenegger

  2. Faculty of Science, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, CH-4058, Switzerland

    Martin Fussenegger

Authors
  1. Ferdinand Sedlmayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martin Fussenegger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Fussenegger.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sedlmayer, F., Fussenegger, M. Synthetic biology: A probiotic probe for inflammation. Nat Biomed Eng 1, 0097 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-017-0097

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-017-0097

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research