Altering microbial populations and modifying microbiota
AssigneeSNIPR Technologies Limited
InventorsJasper Clube, Morten Sommer, Christian Grøndahl, Eric Van Der Helm, Ruben Vazquez-Uribe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to methods, uses, systems, arrays, engineered nucleotide sequences and vectors for inhibiting bacterial population growth or for altering the relative ratio of sub-populations of first and second bacteria in a mixed population of bacteria. The invention is particularly useful, for example, for treatment of microbes such as for environmental, medical, food and beverage use. The invention relates inter alia to methods of controlling microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) or biofouling of a substrate or fluid in an industrial or domestic system.
Claims19
A method of modifying a mixed population of bacteria, wherein the mixed population of bacteria comprises cells of a first bacterial species of Bacillus subtilis, host cells of a second bacterial species, and a third bacterial species Lactobacillus lactis, and wherein the second bacterial species is a different species than the first bacterial species, the method comprising:
- (a) contacting the mixed population of bacteria with a plurality of vectors comprising a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Cas nuclease and a second nucleic acid sequence for producing a host modifying crRNA (HM-crRNA), and
- (b) expressing the Cas nuclease and the HM-crRNA in the host cells, wherein the HM-crRNA is operable with the Cas nuclease in the host cells, wherein the second nucleic acid sequence and the Cas nuclease are comprised by a HM-CRISPR/Cas system and wherein the HM-crRNA comprises a nucleic acid sequence that is capable of hybridizing to a target sequence in the host cells to guide the Cas nuclease to cut the target sequence in the host cells of the second bacterial species;
- whereby the host cells of the second bacterial species are killed or growth of the host cells is reduced, thereby reducing the proportion of the host cells of the second bacterial species and altering the relative ratio of the first and second bacterial species in the mixed population of bacteria;
- and wherein the host cells of the second bacterial species are killed by at least 1000-fold or growth of the host cells of the second bacterial species is reduced by at least 1000-fold, and wherein the first bacterial species is not killed or growth of first bacterial species is not reduced.
A method of modifying a mixed population of bacteria, wherein the mixed population of bacteria comprises cells of a first bacterial species and host cells of a second bacterial species, and wherein the second bacterial species is a different species than the first bacterial species, the method comprising:
- (a) contacting the mixed population of bacteria with a plurality of vectors comprising a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Cas nuclease and a second nucleic acid sequence for producing a host modifying crRNA (HM-crRNA), and
- (b) expressing the Cas nuclease and the HM-crRNA in the host cells, wherein the HM-crRNA is operable with the Cas nuclease in the host cells, wherein the second nucleic acid sequence and the Cas nuclease are comprised by a HM-CRISPR/Cas system and wherein the HM-crRNA comprises a nucleic acid sequence that is capable of hybridizing to a target sequence in the host cells to guide the Cas nuclease to cut the target sequence in the host cells of the second bacterial species;
- wherein the target sequence is present in multiple copies in the host cells of the second bacterial species;
- whereby the host cells of the second bacterial species are killed or growth of the host cells is reduced, thereby reducing the proportion of the host cells of the second bacterial species and altering the relative ratio of the first and second bacterial species in the mixed population of bacteria;
- and wherein the host cells of the second bacterial species are killed by at least 1000-fold or growth of the host cells of the second bacterial species is reduced by at least 1000-fold, and wherein the first bacterial species is not killed or growth of first bacterial species is not reduced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.