TY - JOUR T1 - Engineering a customizable antibacterial T6SS-based platform in <em>Vibrio natriegens</em> JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2021.05.04.439770 SP - 2021.05.04.439770 AU - Biswanath Jana AU - Kinga Keppel AU - Dor Salomon Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/05/04/2021.05.04.439770.abstract N2 - Bacterial pathogens are a major risk to human, animal, and plant health. To counteract the spread of antibiotic resistance, alternative antibacterial strategies are urgently needed. Here, we constructed a proof-of-concept customizable, modular, and inducible antibacterial toxin delivery platform. By engineering a type VI secretion system (T6SS) that is controlled by an externally induced on/off switch, we transformed the safe bacterium, Vibrio natriegens, into an effective antibacterial weapon. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the delivered effector repertoire, and thus the toxicity range of this platform, can be easily manipulated and tested. We believe that this platform can serve as a foundation for novel antibacterial bio-treatments, as well as a unique tool to study antibacterial toxins.Competing Interest StatementTel Aviv University has filed a provisional patent application regarding this manuscript. ER -