Glow to Grow
Microbial production of Desferrioxamine reimagined
Learn more about our Project
Every year, approximately
400,000 infants
are born with an impaired assembly of hemoglobin, the primary oxygen-carrying protein in our blood.
Population growth
in the Middle East and Africa continues to rise, and this trend is likely to result in an increase in the number of patients suffering from hemoglobinopathies. This trend is particularly worrying given the already high prevalence of anemias caused by hemoglobin deficiency in these regions.
Learn more about anemiaIn addition to these, there are stable populations with a high frequency of the hemoglobin S (HbS) allele, which causes sickle cell anemia (SCA).
Most of these diseases were fatal in the early stages of a child's life, but...
Improvements
in living standards and healthcare mean that people now live longer, to actually suffer from the disease
Disrupted hemoglobin synthesis impairs the production of red blood cells, leading to chronic anemia. Patients often require regular blood transfusions to maintain healthy oxygen levels and prevent complications.
But with every transfusion the patient takes up
300 mg of iron
into their body leading to iron deposition in organs like heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys which can result in debilitating effects and death.
But here's a solution!
Chelation therapy!
Chelating agents can be used to remove excess iron from the body, enabling patients to live healthy, fulfilling lives with a near-normal life expectancy.
However, these treatments are costly due to the complexity of production and low yield rates.
Our goal
is to enhance deferoxamine production by engineering Rhodococcus spp., a robust and versatile organism gaining attention in biomanufacturing. As it does not naturally synthesize deferoxamine, we plan to introduce the biosynthetic gene cluster from Gordonia rubritertincta CWB2.
To ensure full gene expression and proper enzyme functionality, we use a split-GFP system.
If the proteins fold correctly, the two GFP fragments—expressed from separate plasmids—reassemble and emit fluorescence. It is particularly important for us to verify that this system works in Rhodococcus, as it has not been demonstrated in this organism before.
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See how our project came to life — in the lab, online, and beyond...
