Team:Cambridge

From 2010.igem.org

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Latest revision as of 13:17, 26 December 2010

Abstract

We placed genes from fireflies and bioluminescent bacteria into E.coli. Codon optimisation and single amino acid mutagenesis allowed us to generate bright light output in a range of different colours. Future applications include and quantitative biosensors and biological alternatives to conventional lighting.

Multimedia

If you want a break from hard-core science, check out our Gibson Assembly music video.

You can also see view videos of our bacterial bubble lamp and project overview.

Tools

Gibson
Assembly Ligation
Calculator

The Project

A flask lit by E. coli transformed with one of our constructs

E. coli transformed with our different coloured bioluminescent systems

Team members illuminated only by our bacteria

Over the course of the summer we built a set of BioBricks to allow bioluminescence in a wide range of colours which have applications both as reporters for biosensors and as natural light sources. We also developed software tools to aid construction of BioBrick parts and devices.

Project Firefly

We adopted a number of strategies to extend the use of firefly luciferase:

Codon optimisation for increased light output
Use of a luciferin regenerating enzyme.
Mutagenesis to create a number of different colours

Project Vibrio

We complemented these firefly systems, which require the addition of the substrate luciferin, with light producing systems from Vibrio fischeri. We believe we have created the first BioBrick to emit light in normal E. coli strains without the addition of any external substrate.

Tools

During our project we made extensive use of Gibson Assembly to manufacture our parts, and have submitted an RFC to the [http://bbf.openwetware.org/ BioBricks Foundation] to help future teams make best use of this technique.

Along with this, we also constructed a number of tools to assist the synthetic biologists of the future:

Gibthon Construct Designer allows the user to enter a series of BioBrick or GenBank IDs in a specific order and computes the appropriate primers for Gibson Assembly.
BioBrick → GenBank allows parts from the registry to be downloaded in .gb format, making them compatible with a wide range of biological software.
The Ligation Calculator is a small calculator to help you work out the proportions to use for ligation in BioBrick assembly without having to worry about units.
The E.glometer is a cheap, easily built, piece of electronics for measuring bioluminescence. It allows scientists without access to expensive plate readers to measure bacterial light output and has potential applications in quantitative biosensors.

Achievements in iGEM competition

Finalist
Winner of "Best Wiki" award (awarded jointly to Cambridge and Imperial College London)
Winner of the iGEMers Prize (awarded jointly to five iGEM teams)
Awarded a Gold Medal

Please see [http://https://igem.org/Results iGEM official results page] to see how all the teams did.

In the news

[http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827885.000-glowing-trees-could-light-up-city-streets.html New Scientist article]
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1333334/How-trees-glow-like-fireflies-day-replace-streetlights.html Daily Mail article]
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/8215302/The-science-of-Christmas-we-could-grow-our-own-fairy-lights-say-the-tree-wise-men.html The Telegraph Article]

The team - in order - Anja Hohmann, Emily Knott, Hannah Copley, Will Handley, Theo Sanderson, Ben Reeve, Paul Masset, Peter Emmrich, Bill Collins

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
-Over the course of the summer we built a set of BioBricks to allow bioluminescence in a wide range of colours which have applications both as reporters for [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/microMeasure '''biosensors'''] and as [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/Lighting '''natural light sources'''].
+Over the course of the summer we built a set of BioBricks to allow bioluminescence in a wide range of colours which have applications both as reporters for [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/microMeasure '''biosensors'''] and as [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/Lighting '''natural light sources''']. We also developed software tools to aid construction of BioBrick parts and devices.
 {{:Team:Cambridge/Templates/Nolineheader2|header=Project Firefly}}
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 * The [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/Eglometer '''E.glometer'''] is a cheap, easily built, piece of electronics for measuring bioluminescence.  It allows scientists without access to expensive plate readers to measure bacterial light output and has potential applications in [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/microMeasure '''quantitative biosensors'''].
+{{:Team:Cambridge/Templates/Nolineheader2|header=Achievements in iGEM competition
+}}
+* Finalist
+* Winner of "Best Wiki" award (awarded jointly to Cambridge and [https://2010.igem.org/Team:Imperial_College_London '''Imperial College London'''])
+* Winner of the iGEMers Prize (awarded jointly to five iGEM teams)
+* Awarded a Gold Medal
+Please see [http://https://igem.org/Results '''iGEM official results page'''] to see how all the teams did.
+{{:Team:Cambridge/Templates/Nolineheader2|header=In the news
+}}
+* [http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827885.000-glowing-trees-could-light-up-city-streets.html New Scientist article]
+* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1333334/How-trees-glow-like-fireflies-day-replace-streetlights.html Daily Mail article]
+* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/8215302/The-science-of-Christmas-we-could-grow-our-own-fairy-lights-say-the-tree-wise-men.html The Telegraph Article]
 [[Image:Cambridge_team_pictwo2010.jpg|center|frame|The team - in order - Anja Hohmann, Emily Knott, Hannah Copley, Will Handley, Theo Sanderson, Ben Reeve, Paul Masset, Peter Emmrich,  Bill Collins]]
 <html></div></html>{{:Team:Cambridge/Templates/footerMinimal}}