CH391L/S12/iGEM Registry

What is the iGEM Registry?

The Registry of Standard Biological Parts is a growing bank of genetic building blocks (promoters, DNA binding sites, protein-coding sequences, etc) that are built with the intention of being pieced together to create synthetic systems within organisms. The goal is to create a large functional group of parts (called BioBricks, categorized by type, so that new combinations can be built according to engineering principles.

"Get Some, Give Some"

The registry is built on the idea of "get some, give some:" the Registry is a resource for users to find and integrate new parts into their systems, while they in turn provide the Registry with data regarding the effectiveness of obtained parts and new parts they have developed. In this way, the Registry continually grows and improves as a community resource.

History

The registry is an effort that was founded by MIT in 2003. In the summer of 2004, the registry contained about 100 basic parts; today, this has expanded to over 700 available and 2000 defined parts.

PoPS (Polymerase per Second)

PoPS is a new unit developed during construction of standardized "ends" of DNA pieces that measures the rate of transcription at the boundaries of parts. This rate is now being used to categorize parts in the catalog.

Finding Parts

The registry is focused primary around the [partsregistry.org/Catalog Catalog] containing sorted and categorized parts. You can browse the parts and devices in the Catalog by:

• type
• function
• chassis (the model in which the part works best)
• assembly standard: each assembly standard is described in detail with the correct parts and methods included on the catalog page for that method
• contributor
• other user-generated catalog pages