Abstract

The parasitic worm disease Schistosomiasis currently affects 240 million people worldwide and causes tens of thousands deaths every year. The current methods of treatment and diagnostics are insufficient. Therefore we wanted to develop a point of care test for DNA detection, enabling fast diagnosis and more accurate treatment of infected individuals. We have designed two separate systems. The first one is a cell free system that uses a fusion of dCas9 and split TEV protease. When bound to the target sequence it activates and induces alpha-complementation that forms the tetramer beta-galactosidase, which produces a blue pigment for a visual readout. The second method uses DNA-binding zinc fingers bound to the membrane of a yeast cell. Upon binding to the target sequence, production of the purple pigment violacein is induced as well as production of mating factor alpha. This induces the same genes in nearby cells, thereby amplifying the visible readout.

Abstract

Gold Medal iGEM 2022

Gold medal for the project and a nomination for Special Prize Best Software Tool in Paris 2022!

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