Repurposing antibiotic resistance to capture new-to-Nature chemistries in a bacterial host

Life has evolved to rely essentially on a handful of chemical elements (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus). The reasons why these and not others have been chosen by evolution or the frontiers for the chemical diversity of potential alternate lifeforms are long-pursued scientific questions. This project aims to address these questions by the stable incorporation of non-biological atoms (xeno-elements) into a living organism. This goal is based on the unorthodox strategy of developing a de novo antibiotic resistance dependent on the presence of the selected xeno-element. This unique bacterial platform will serve as a gate to introduce new-to-Nature chemistries in living cells as well as a potential biotechnology host for products beyond canonical biochemistry.