| WARF: P05368US |  |
| Singlet Oxygen Resistant Technologies |
| INVENTORS | • | Timothy Donohue, Jennifer Anthony, Kristin Warczak, Yann DuFour, Heather Green |
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing a method of enhancing or reducing the response to 1O2.
OVERVIEW
Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a photosynthetic bacterium that is a useful model system for photosynthesis. Singlet oxygen (1O2) is a toxic byproduct of photosynthesis and other biological pathways that can destroy the integrity of membranes, abolish the function of biomolecules, harm the photosynthetic machinery and kill cells. R. sphaeroides responds to 1O2 by using a transcription factor, σE, which turns on the expression of several genes that mediate the response to and ensure viability in the presence of 1O2.
THE INVENTION
UW-Madison researchers have developed a method of altering the response of cells to 1O2 by modulating the interaction between an anti-sigma factor, ChrR, and σE, or by altering the expression of a gene product required for viability in the presence of 1O2. The growth of phototrophic bacteria exposed to 1O2 may be inhibited by administering an anti-sigma agent, such as ChrR, to reduce the availability of σE On the other hand, a bacterium or other organism may be protected from damage from 1O2 by modifying the genes in the σE regulon or by modifying ChrR to alter binding between it and σE.
APPLICATIONS
- Improved crop production
- Production of molecules in plant or bacterial cell factories
- Destruction of susceptible pathogens
KEY BENEFITS
- Allows response to 1O2 to be enhanced or reduced
- Engineered photosynthetic systems could be designed to be less susceptible to 1O2 damage.
- Because 1O2 affects many organisms, including bacteria, plants, animals and humans, the components of the biological response to 1O2 have applications in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology and bioenergy production systems.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For More Information About the Inventors
Intellectual Property Status
Tech Fields
Agriculture - Plant biotech
Agriculture - Crop production
Research Tools - Synthesis & purification
CONTACT INFORMATION
For current licensing status, please contact our team at
licensing@warf.org
or phone 608.262.4924. (Clicking this link will open a contact form in a popup window. If you have problems viewing the form, try disabling your popup blocker software.)
Since its founding in 1925 as the patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WARF has been working with business and industry to transform university research into products that benefit society. WARF intellectual property managers and licensing staff members are leaders in the field of university-based technology transfer. They are familiar with the intricacies of patenting, have worked with researchers in relevant disciplines, understand industries and markets, and have negotiated innovative licensing strategies to meet the individual needs of business clients.
