Difference between revisions of "Team:Manchester"

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<h1>The University of Manchester</h1>
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<h1>The University of Man-cheese-ter</h1>
 
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<h2>Man-Cheester: Development of a soft cheese with integrated Listeria monocytogenes biosensor</h2>
 
<img src="igempic/FINAL LOGO IGEM.PNG" width = "400" height="265"alt="iGEM 2018"/>
 
<img src="igempic/FINAL LOGO IGEM.PNG" width = "400" height="265"alt="iGEM 2018"/>
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<p>What is iGEM?</p>
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<p>About our project</p>
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<p> Listeria is a genus of bacteria that, until 1992, contained 10 known species,[1][2] each containing two subspecies. As of 2014, another five species were identified.[3] Named after the British pioneer of sterile surgery Joseph Lister, the genus received its current name in 1940. Listeria specie</p>
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<p>Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, food-borne bacterium, capable of causing the rare but potentially fatal disease listeriosis. L.monocytogenes can replicate at temperatures as low as 0°C allowing it to survive in industrial and domestic refrigerators. L.monocytogenes can often grow in soft cheeses, making many varieties of cheese unavailable to those who are immunosuppressed. Man-Cheester aims to modify Lactococcus lactis, a common bacterium in cheese manufacture. We will transform L. lactis in a cheese starter culture to detect AIP, a key quorum signalling molecule produced by L. monocytogenes. This will be done by expressing the agr quorum-sensing system used by L.monocytogenes in L. lactis. On detection of AIP, a colour change will occur within L. lactis causing the cheese to turn purple, alerting the consumer to its contamination. Our concept could be further developed to include other sources of L. monocytogenes contamination such as meats and vegetables to prevent as many cases of listeriosis as possible.</p>
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<p>The first documented case of listeriosis was in 1924. In the late 1920s, two researchers independently identified L. monocytogenes from animal outbreaks. They proposed the genus Listerella in honor of surgeon and early antiseptic advocate Joseph Lister, but that name was already in use for a slime mold and a protozoan. Eventually, the genus Listeria was proposed and accepted. All species within the genus Listeria are Gram-positive, catalase-positive rods and do not produce endospores. The genus Listeria was classified in the family Corynebacteriaceae through the seventh edition of Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. The 16S rRNA cataloging studies of Stackebrandt, et al. demonstrated that L. monocytogenes is a distinct taxon within the Lactobacillus-Bacillus branch of the bacterial phylogeny constructed by Woese. In 2004, the genus was placed in the newly created family Listeriaceae. The only other genus in the family is Brochothrix.[7]The genus Listeria currently contains 17 species: L. aquatica, L. booriae, L. cornellensis, L. fleischmannii, L. floridensis, L. grandensis, L. grayi, L. innocua, L. ivanovii, L. marthii, L. monocytogenes, L. newyorkensis, L. riparia, L. rocourtiae, L. seeligeri, L. weihenstephanensis, and L. welshimeri.[8] Listeria dinitrificans, previously thought to be part of the genus Listeria, was reclassified into the new genus Jonesia.[9] Under the microscope, Listeria species appear as small rods, which are sometimes arranged in short chains. In direct smears, they may be coccoid, so they can be mistaken for streptococci. Longer cells may resemble corynebacteria. Flagella are produced at room temperature, but not at 37 °C. Hemolytic activity on blood agar has been used as a marker to distinguish L. monocytogenes from other Listeria species, but it is not an absolutely definitive criterion. Further biochemical characterization may be necessary to distinguish between the different species of Listeria.</p>
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Revision as of 13:00, 21 June 2018

The University of Man-cheese-ter

Man-Cheester: Development of a soft cheese with integrated Listeria monocytogenes biosensor

iGEM 2018

About our project

Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, food-borne bacterium, capable of causing the rare but potentially fatal disease listeriosis. L.monocytogenes can replicate at temperatures as low as 0°C allowing it to survive in industrial and domestic refrigerators. L.monocytogenes can often grow in soft cheeses, making many varieties of cheese unavailable to those who are immunosuppressed. Man-Cheester aims to modify Lactococcus lactis, a common bacterium in cheese manufacture. We will transform L. lactis in a cheese starter culture to detect AIP, a key quorum signalling molecule produced by L. monocytogenes. This will be done by expressing the agr quorum-sensing system used by L.monocytogenes in L. lactis. On detection of AIP, a colour change will occur within L. lactis causing the cheese to turn purple, alerting the consumer to its contamination. Our concept could be further developed to include other sources of L. monocytogenes contamination such as meats and vegetables to prevent as many cases of listeriosis as possible.