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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Live bacteria deliver crucial enzymes straight to the gut

Intestinal microbes can be programmed to make up for a deficiency that causes a devastating inherited disorder.
Infant being tested for phenylketonuria

A newborn baby is tested for the genetic disorder phenylketonuria, which may be treatable with bacteria engineered to compensate for an enzyme that patients lack. Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty

Bacteria that live in the human gut have been engineered to churn out two key enzymes, providing a possible treatment for a serious genetic disease.

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Nature 560, 412 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05949-6

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