INSPIRE Track 1: Resolving and optogenetically perturbing biofilms at the single-cell level

INSPIRE 轨道 1：在单细胞水平上解析和光遗传学扰动生物膜

• 批准号: 1344191
• 负责人: Ned Wingreen
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-03-15 至 2018-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1344191&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: INSPIRE; Track; Resolving; optogenetically; perturbing

This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Systems and Synthetic Biology program in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences in the Directorate for Biological Sciences, the Physics of Living Systems in the Division of Physics in the Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, and the Biotechnology, Biochemical, and Biomass Engineering program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, in the Directorate for Engineering. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: In their natural environments, bacteria primarily exist in multicellular, surface-bound communities called biofilms. While biofilms are desirable in the context of wastewater treatment, biofilms are notorious for causing undesirable problems such as chronic, medical device-associated, and hospital-associated infections, and persistent damage to surfaces of nearly all materials. Cells in biofilms display striking differences from cells that are free living, such as production of adhesive polymers, and a 1,000-fold increase in tolerance to antibiotics. Studies to date have been limited to investigations of biofilm formation, when only a few cells are present, or to overall characterization of the entire structure. The PIs made a recent breakthrough in microscopy: they resolved the individual cells in biofilms. This is the first time anyone has peered "into" a biofilm, to watch it develop, cell by cell, under conditions that model environmental, medical, and industrial systems. The PIs have also developed procedures to perturb the biofilm using genetic, mechanical, chemical and optical means. The PIs propose to characterize biofilms from the gene to the genome and from the cell to the collective. The project is based on a radically new approach that is essential to gain the understanding necessary to solve a fundamental problem with broad implications for science, engineering, and society. BROADER IMPACTS: This is a project at the interface of Physics, Biology and Engineering, and as such, offers to the students and postdoctoral researchers involved exceptional research educational opportunities. Moreover, each investigator has remarkable track records in teaching, outreach, and service.

该 INSPIRE 奖的部分资金由生物科学理事会分子和细胞生物科学司的系统和合成生物学项目、数学和物理科学理事会物理司的生命系统物理学以及生物技术资助。工程理事会化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统部门的生物化学和生物质工程项目。智力价值：在自然环境中，细菌主要存在于称为生物膜的多细胞、表面结合群落中。虽然生物膜在废水处理中是理想的，但生物膜因引起不良问题而臭名昭著，例如慢性、医疗设备相关和医院相关感染，以及对几乎所有材料表面的持续损伤。生物膜中的细胞与自由生活的细胞表现出显着的差异，例如产生粘性聚合物，并且对抗生素的耐受性增加了 1,000 倍。迄今为止的研究仅限于仅存在少数细胞时生物膜形成的研究，或整个结构的总体表征。 PI 最近在显微镜技术方面取得了突破：他们解析了生物膜中的单个细胞。这是第一次有人“观察”生物膜，观察它在模拟环境、医疗和工业系统的条件下一个细胞一个细胞地发育。 PI 还开发了利用遗传、机械、化学和光学手段扰乱生物膜的程序。 PI 提议描述从基因到基因组、从细胞到集体的生物膜特征。该项目基于一种全新的方法，对于获得解决对科学、工程和社会具有广泛影响的基本问题所需的理解至关重要。 更广泛的影响：这是一个物理学、生物学和工程学交叉的项目，因此为学生和博士后研究人员提供了特殊的研究教育机会。此外，每位研究者在教学、外展和服务方面都有出色的记录。