Objectives:
1) Design combined auxotrophic, kill-switch and dual-lock synthetic circuits to allow chassis to be grown in bioreactors in the presence of added compounds, while preventing growth and proliferation in vivo. This will enable selective in vivo attenuation of M. pneumoniae for live vaccines, thus maximising immunogenicity while increasing biosafety.
2) Express antigens late during growth with an inducible system. The aim is to reduce metabolic costs during the in vitro growth phase to maximise production of vaccine.