Mechanism of FadA protein
The FadA protein is activated when its two forms combine and become internalized. The first form is a pre-FadA that is anchored in the cell membrane, whereas the second form is the mature FadA (mFadA) that is secreted out of F. nucleatum. When the two forms combine to form a complex, the protein is capable to help F. nucleatum bind to the host epithelial cell, thus allowing F. nucleatum embark on invading the host cells.
Overview (Fig. 1)
We will first express Cas9 and sgRNA in E.coli and then transport them to E.coli’s periplasm(Step 1). By then, they may be packaged by OMVs that bud off from E.coli’s outer membrane(Step 2). Those OMVs will be collected and mixed with our target bacteria, thereby allowing them to fuse with bacteria again, to release the Cas9 proteins and sgRNA(Step 3), and cleave the target gene (Step 4 & 5). Afterwards, we will test whether the target gene is cleaved by Cas9.