Team:Imperial College London/Glossary

From 2010.igem.org

Glossary
Having been involved with this project for so long, we had forgotten that maybe not everyone knows some of the terms and acronyms that we have become familiar with. Here is a list of some of the most common words, and their explainations.
Terms associated with our project
Catechol: The colourless substrate of C2,30 which is oxidised to produce a yellow compound.

Cercaia (Pl. Cercaiae): This is the lifecycle stage of the schistosoma parasite which infects humans upon contact with contaminated water.

Chassis: The host (usually an organism) which the synthetic gene circuit is run in.

ComC: The gene that encodes CSP-1.

ComD: The sensory histidine kinase in the ComCDE pathway. Phosphorylates ComE upon binding of CSP-1.

ComE: The response regulator in the ComCDE pathway. Acts as a transcription factor to induce transcription of target genes.

Elastase 2a: A type of elastase produced by cercariae which allows them to bury through human skin.

LytC: B. subtilis inherent cell-wall associated protein mediating cell-wall turnover.

Quorum sensing: Ability of microbes to sense the cell-densitiy of the population via chemical communication.

Schistosoma: Trematode parasite causing disease in over 200 Million people world-wide.

Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia): Parasitic disease caused by trematodes of the Schistosoma species.

TEV protease: A protease from the Tobacco Etch Virus that has a very specific recognition motif.

Transformation: Introduction of functional nucleic acid sequences into a host organism.

Two-Component Signal Transduction: Molecular signaling induced by actication of a sensory histidine kinase that is often part of a microbial quorum sensing system. Via secondary messenger proteins the signal transduction leads to expression of specific response genes.

XylE: The gene that encodes C2,3O.

Accronyms
AIP: Autoinducing Peptide

C2,3O: Catechol 2,3 Dioxygenase

ELSI: Ethical, legal and social implications

FDI: Foreign direct investment

GMM: Genetically modified microorganism

GMO: Genetically modified organism

HSE: Health and Safety Executive

IPR: Intellectual property rights

MDG: Millennium development goals

NPO: Non-Profit organisation

NTD: Neglected tropical disease

R & D: Research and development

WHO: World Health Organisation