User:James Chappell / Pictures

	Benefits	Challenges
	Protein Expression
	Single Membrane - B.subtilis is a gram-positive bacterium and contains only a single membrane. This makes B.subtilis an ideal organism for secretion of biomaterials	Peptidase activity - B.subtilis express exopeptidases and so there is a risk that our biomaterial may be cleaved up before it can be secreted.
	Foundational Technology
	Availability of Potential Parts - B.subtilis is a highly studied organism, with a fully sequenced genome. As a result, B.subtilis provides many useful potential parts.	Biobricking - Although there is a huge number of potential parts, these still have to be manipulated to conform to existing Biobrick standards.
		Starting from scratch - Although previous iGEM teams have looked at B.subtilis as a potential chassis, there are very few working B.subtilis parts available in the Registry. As a result, we will have to design a variety of promoter, ribosome binding sites and protein coding regions.
	Biobrick Assembly
	Natural Competency and Integration - B. subtilis has been noted for its ease and efficieny of transformation. Plasmids can be naturally taken up by B. subtilis cells. In addition to the use of vectors to carry exogenous DNA, we can integrate directly into the B.subtilis chromosome. This has the advantage of a greater control of copy number and potential greater stability of genetic devices.	Vector Degradation - B.subtilis does not use all the same vectors as E.coli. One reason for this is that B.subtilis often recognises vectors grown in E.coli and digests them. This will (judging by the approach of previous iGEM teams) include the biobrick itself.
	Chassis Properties
	Non-pathogenicity - B. subtilis is a non-pathogenic organism that is commonly found in soil. As a result, B. subtilis has a biological harzardous level of 1 and offers a useful non-pathogenic chassis for synthetic biologists.
	High Motility - B.subtilis is often referred to as a highly motile organsim. Quoted velocity range from 60 - 100 μm per second. In comparison to E.coli which has an average velocity of .... B.subtilis is much more motile.
	Sporulation: Transport - Under stress conditions, B.subtilis will form spores. These spores are highly resistant versions of single cells, able to withstand extreme temperatures and pH. These spores are capable of growing into new cells once favourable growing conditions are restored. Due to the resistance of spores, there is a great potential for manipulating them for transporting B.subtilis devices and constructs.