WU Research Group
My research focuses on the regulation and engineering of interconnected cellular networks which govern the behavior of many subcellular systems. A combination of interdisciplinary approaches, encompassing synthetic biology, engineering design, comparative genomics, proteomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, and chemical biology, are used to investigate the interactions between components of these subcellular systems, discover the system-level mechanisms regulating these networks, and reprogram them for novel industrial and medical applications. A major theme of our group is to engineer bacterial spores for displaying proteins and peptides for applications in biocatalysis, vaccine development, drug delivery, protein/peptide synthesis, bioremediation, and biosensing.
Current Research Interests and Projects
Research Interest 1: Spore surface display of protein complexes for in vitro metabolic engineering
Bacterial spores, which are able to survive a variety of extreme environments, can enhance the robustness of proteins attached to the surface and have a great potential for inexpensive protein expression and display. We have developed a tunable system to modulate protein expression and display on the spore surface, with which we are developing spore-based mini reactors by displaying a multi-enzyme pathway on the surface and fine tune to optimize the overall efficiency.
Research Interest 2: Biosensing and bioremediation
Being dormant and robust, bacterial spores are ideal platforms for displaying proteins and pathways for bioremediation. We are constructing and characterizing spores displaying proteins for heavy metal remediation and plastic degradation. Also of interest is the characterization and engineering of regulatory elements involved in the bioremediation pathways for the development of biosensors with enhanced sensitivity and specificity.
Research Interest 3: Spore-based vaccines and therapeutics
Spores displaying therapeutic proteins provide a way of oral/nasal administration of these proteins, which otherwise cannot survive the acidic environments in the stomach. Taking advantage of the spore display system we have designed, we are developing universal flu vaccines and also spore-based alternative antibiotics and therapeutic platform to treat metabolic disorders.
Research Interest 4: Genetic tool development
To improve the efficiency of genetic engineering and gene expression in Bacillus subtilis, we are developing a PCR-based method for markerless gene replacement, which will greatly facilitate the study of B. subtilis and relevant bacteria. In addition, we are engineering commonly used protein tools, such as fluorescent proteins and transcription factors, to enhance their thermal stability so that they are applicable in thermophiles.
2010 - present
2010 - present