IGEM:PennState/Labbook/Nimrah Ahmed

Meeting 5/15/2008

Circuit project ideas:

• Genetic Circuit basics: http://www.princeton.edu/~rweiss/bio-programming/weiss-natural-computing-2003.pdf

Sequential cell color change

• ex. Green->Red->Yellow->repeat.
• System: organic layer & bacterial aquatic layer in liquid form. Shake to combine organic layer w/ bacterial aquatic layer -> initiate color change.
• Structure: Messenger protein downstream of color protein, downstream of organic molecule-activated promoter

Components

• Organic compound: hydrophobic, heavy (won't evaporate), activates promoter
• Promoter: lac, responds to organic
• Color proteins

Circuit

O -> A

A+B -> C, GFP

A+C -> B, YFP

• Degradation tags on A, B, C, GFP, YFP, strongest on A, weakest on B and C.
• Intended result: shake once: GFP, shake again: YFP, shake again, GFP, etc.

Options:

• Bioluminescense : proteins like "M-Cherry" instead of flourescent proteins...
• Rather than shake, stir by thermal convection or a magnetic stirrer

(Peking U did something like this--sequential color change--but UV activated. MIT team idea: bacterial lava lamp?)

Nimrah Ahmed 12:26, 15 May 2008 (EDT)