CAREER: Selective activation of catalytic RNA to control energy flow in microbial consortia

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Microbial communities are found almost everywhere and underlie processes critical to agriculture, waste treatment, the longevity of materials, and human health. Genetic manipulation of these communities can be used to understand how they form and to introduce new functions to increase the agricultural productivity of soil, improve human health, recover energy from waste materials to achieve a circular economy, and more. To that end, this project creates a new method for genetically programming microbial communities that will open the door for new applications in biotechnology and medicine. This project also carries out an integrated research and education plan that focuses on community colleges. While community colleges educate a large and diverse student body, they often lack access to high-impact research experiences. Through a series of research-focused activities, this project aims to increase the number of community college students pursuing degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In the last decade, great progress has been made in developing frameworks to genetically program model microbes grown in the laboratory. To program the native microbial communities found in soils, rivers, guts, minerals, and built materials, analogous frameworks will be required. This project addresses the broad challenge of genetically engineering microbial communities that are composed of diverse non-model species and often found in complex matrices (e.g., soil, biofilms, materials). Engineered RNA systems will be used to study how different genetic programs spread throughout microbial communities and to implement spatiotemporal control such that genetic programs are only activated in specific community members. These methods will be combined and applied to create genetic programs that enhance the ability of microbial communities to harvest energy directly from waste materials.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.