Ongoing Research Projects
Mobile Genetic Elements as Tools for Engineering Cell Factories
Microbes can biosynthesize diverse chemicals useful for medicine, agriculture, manufacturing and other industries. Different species or strains could offer unique metabolic potentials, growth profiles and stress tolerance. Still, only a tiny fraction of known microbes can be genetically modified thereby limiting their usefulness as cell factory hosts. Moreover, the engineering knowhow from one host cells cannot directly be translated to others. This project aims to develop a universal platform, based on mobile genetic elements (MGEs), that enable the delivery, maintenance, and precise control of gene expression in a wide range of microbial hosts. The knowledge gained from this project has the potential to streamline workflows for engineering cell factories and enhance our understanding of MGE biology.
Engineering of Exosomes for Precise Targeting Drug Delivery for Neuronal and Cardiovascular Diseases
This project is part of a collaborative research program dedicated to developing therapeutic exosomes for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and ischemic stroke. Our team, together with collaborators from Naresuan University, aims to create a platform that streamlines the engineering of exosomes. This platform will allow us to enhance exosome capabilities, such as directing them to specific cells, loading them with targeted molecules, and increasing their production yield. The engineered exosomes produced by the team at Naresuan University will undergo thorough analysis, both in vitro and in vivo, conducted by our collaborating partners at other institutions.
Metabolic Engineering of Stilbenoids from Peanut Hairy Roots
Stilbenoids from peanut hair roots are powerful antioxidants, antimicrobials, and anticancers. However, producing these stilbenoids in a large scale for practical uses is still challenging. Here, we aim to improve stilbenoid production by engineering its biosynthetic pathway in peanut hairy roots as well as reconstructing this pathway in common microbial cell factories such as E.coli and S.cerevisiae. This research holds promise for advancing the accessibility and utilization of stilbenoids in various fields, including medicine, food science, and agriculture.
In situ Microbiome Engineering of Aquatic Crustacean
In situ microbiome engineering through direct delivery of genetic payload to microbiome would allow us to control the microbiome without separating and cultivating bacteria. Aquatic crustaceans are fascinating targets because they are vital to aquatic ecosystems and aquaculture. This group of animals is also important for public health because their interaction with aquatic microbes can spread antibiotic resistance genes. We aim to create efficient methods for delivering and characterizing synthetic gene cassettes in living aquatic crustacean Moina macrocopa. This study has implications for aquatic crustacean microbiome engineering and models the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments via zooplankton crustaceans.
Past Projects @ Naresuan University
Probiotic Enrichment of Moina sp. for Siamese Fighting Fish Larvae
In Thailand, Siamease fighting fish is an economically significant ornamental fish. However, the mortality rate of B. splendens larvae is frequently high. We isolated and formulate the probiotic Bacillus simplex for enriching Moina sp used as live feed for fish larvae. This probiotic significantly boosts the growth and survival rates of the larvae.
Microfluidic Tools for Studying and Selecting Individual Zooplanktons
Exploration and utilization of zooplankton diversity would expand our understanding of aquatic ecosystem and benefit aquaculture industry. Nonetheless, current methods for isolating and studying diversity of individual zooplankton remain slow and labor intensive. We developed microfluidic platform and software tools for solving this problem.
Microbial Biocontrol of Panama Disease in Numwa Banana
Due to its nutritional content and drought tolerance, Nam Wa is one of the most significant banana varieties. However, it is highly susceptible to Fusarium wilt. We report the uses of Pseudomonas and Bacillus to mitigate the severity of Fusarium wilt in banana plants. We also analyzed bacterial community of Nam Wa rhizospheres in response to Fusarium and bacterial biocontrol.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Isothermal Nucleic-acid Tests for Human Coronaviruses
Amidst Covid-19 pandemic, many studies reported coronavirus point-of-care tests (POCTs) based on isothermal amplification. We systematically reviewed and performed mata-analysis of diagnosis accuracy of these POCTs. We included 81 studies with diagnosis techniques ranging from LAMP to RPA and CRISPR diagnosis.
Vinegar Based Herbicide Formulation Against Common Weeds in Thailand
Acetic acid has been proposed as an environmentally friendly bioherbicide. Nonetheless, most relevant peer-reviewed studies were conducted in North America. We formulated bioherbicide based on vinegar and soapberry extract that can kill various local weeds in Thailand including crabgrass, sleepy grass, Bermuda grass, torpedo grass and swamp morning glory after repeated applications.
Self-transmissible CRISPR Antimicrobial for Elimination of Plasmids in Bacterial Population
CRISPR antimicrobials is a powerful tool for combating antibiotic resistance. However, this approach requires efficient delivery of CRISPR/Cas cassette into the bacterial population. We developed conjugation systems for CRISPR delivery, target DNA elimination and replacement. All target plasmid from the entire recipient population could be replaced even at a low donor-to-recipient ratio and in the absence of transconjugant selection.
Pre-Subsoontorn Lab Era
Dynamics of Horizontal gene Transfer in Biofilm
@ Haseloff Lab, Cambridge, UK
DNA transfer via conjugation plays a major role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance among medically significant bacterial species. In this study, we developed a technique for visualising spatial distribution of conjugating bacterial population on a solid surface. Populations of donor, recipient and transconjugant cells can be distinguished using three different fluorescent reporters. We show that the fractal dimension of the interface between donor and recipient populations determines population-level conjugation efficiency. Additionally, competition for nutrients available at colony borders results in stochastic loss of cell diversity and increases variability of observed conjugation frequencies across different colonies
Reliable Functional Composition of a Recombinase Device Family
@ Endy Lab, Stanford, USA
Synthetic biology promises to replace ad hoc small-scale DNA engineering with formalized processes applied to realize much larger-scale changes in genotypes and more radical changes in phenotypes. We describes design principles and applications of a recombinase device family to provide examples for how to compose reliable synthetic gene systems. This work includes: a) computational feasibility studies of synthetic cycle counter, b) experimental proof-of-concepts for a recombinase device built from bacteriophage integrases and excisionases., c) generalisation of devices to three other integrase-excisionase pairs, and implement single-use two input logics, buffer gates and cascades, d) Implementation of autonomous recombinase switches driven by growth-phase dependent promoters.
Engineering In Vitro Transcriptional Circuits with Bistability
@ Winfree Lab, Caltech, USA
Toward gradually increasing the complexity of systematically engineered biological systems, programmable synthetic circuits operating in cell-free in vitro
environments offer a valuable testing ground for principles for the design, characterization, and analysis of complex biochemical systems. Here we illustrate this approach using
in vitro transcriptional circuits (“genelets”) while developing an activatable transcriptional switch motif and configuring it as a bistable autoregulatory circuit, using just four synthetic DNA strands and three essential enzymes, bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase, Escherichia coli ribonuclease H, and ribonuclease R. This simplicity encouraged us to characterize and model the system within a Bayesian inference framework.