Projects

Final projects:

  • Comparative genomics and synthetic design platform for analyzing space-induced microbial mutations, assessing risks, and proposing engineered solution SECTION 1: ABSTRACT Project AstroMicrobes addresses a critical knowledge gap in astrobiology and synthetic biology by developing a computational platform that analyzes how space environments induce mutations in microorganisms. Space conditions, including cosmic radiation, microgravity, and vacuum exposure, can trigger genomic changes that potentially alter microbial pathogenicity, resistance patterns, and adaptability posing risks for space missions and offering insights for Earth applications. This project aims to create an integrated system that compares microbial genomes from space and Earth environments, predicts functional impacts of mutations using machine learning, assesses biological risks, and uniquely proposes engineered genetic solutions to mitigate harmful traits.
  • Group Members @2026a-keerthana-gunaretnam, @2026a-nourelden-rihan, @2026a-ritika-saha, @2026a-rahul-yaji Project Goals Bacteriophages represent a promising alternative to antibiotics in addressing the global challenge of AMR, as evidenced by historical and contemporary reviews (Barron, 2022). The MS2 phage, a single-stranded RNA bacteriophage, encodes the lysis protein L, which disrupts the host bacterial cell wall to facilitate phage progeny release (Chamakura et al., 2017a). Engineering L protein aims to optimize phage performance for therapeutic use, including improved stability, production yields (titers), and lytic potency. This review analyzes each goal using insights from mutational studies (Chamakura et al., 2017b), in vitro characterizations (Mezhyrova et al., 2023), engineering approaches (Lin et al., 2023), phage therapy overviews (Barron, 2022), and computational design strategies (King et al., 2025). The analysis ranks goals by difficulty, as specified, and elucidates the meaning of “higher toxicity”