4 research outputs found
Common principles and best practices for engineering microbiomes
Despite broad scientific interest in harnessing the power of Earth's microbiomes, knowledge gaps
hinder their efficient use for addressing urgent societal and environmental challenges. We argue
hat structuring research and technology developments around a design-build-test-learn (DBTL)
cycle will advance microbiome engineering and spur new discoveries on the basic scientific
principles governing microbiome function. In this Review, we present key elements of an
iterative DBTL cycle for microbiome engineering, focusing on generalizable approaches,
including top-down and bottom-up design processes, synthetic and self-assembled construction
methods, and emerging tools to analyze microbiome function. These approaches can be used to
harness microbiomes for broad applications related to medicine, agriculture, energy, and the
environment. We also discuss key challenges and opportunities of each approach and synthesize
them into best practice guidelines for engineering microbiomes. We anticipate that adoption of a
DBTL framework will rapidly advance microbiome-based biotechnologies aimed at improving
human and animal health, agriculture, and enabling the bioeconomy
Specific oligomerization of the 5-HT1A receptor in the plasma membrane
In the present study we analyze the oligomerization of the 5-HT1A receptor within living cells at the sub-cellular level. Using a 2-excitation Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) method combined with spectral microscopy we are able to estimate the efficiency of energy transfer based on donor quenching as well as acceptor sensitization between CFP-and YFP-tagged 5-HT1A receptors at the plasma membrane. Through the analysis of the level of apparent FRET efficiency over the various relative amounts of donor and acceptor, as well as over a range of total surface expressions of the receptor, we verify the specific interaction of these receptors. Furthermore we study the role of acylation in this interaction through measurements of a palmitoylation-deficient 5-HT1A receptor mutant. Palmitoylation increases the tendency of a receptor to localize in lipid rich microdomains of the plasma membrane. This increases the effective surface density of the receptor and provides for a higher level of stochastic interaction