By screening natural prokaryotic gas vesicle gene clusters, we found and engineered new acoustic reporter genes (ARGs) that give bacteria and mammalian cells brighter ultrasound contrast for real-time noninvasive imaging. Expressing these ARGs in engineered cells enabled us to image tumor-homing bacteria and perform genetically guided tumor biopsies in vivo.
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References
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This is a summary of: Hurt, R. C. et al. Genomically mined acoustic reporter genes for real time in vivo monitoring of tumors and tumor-homing bacteria. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01581-y (2023).
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Real-time monitoring of tumor-homing bacteria and tumor cells in vivo using ultrasound. Nat Biotechnol 41, 913–914 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01590-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01590-x