The Idea
Inspired by an article on flow generated in a micro-capillary tube by a bacterial "pump" [http://microfluids.engin.brown.edu/Breuer_Papers/Journals/Small2008_Bacterial_Pump.pdf]
we have decided to attempt construction of a similar system. Our approach centers on E. coli that will be modified to hyper-express flagella, in an attempt to increase force generation potential. These bacteria will be attached to a surface, and their flagella should therefor generate flow in the surrounding liquid.
Regulation of the pump will be introduced through a photo-sensing chimeric fusion protein that has recently been shown to integrate with the E. coli chemotaxis system [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bi034399q], to control tumbling frequencies in our bacteria, thereby giving us control over the amount of turbulence disrupting our pump via a blue light source. The parts contributed will in effect confer phototaxic ability to E. coli.
For the photoreceptor to work, we will need to supply it with retinal. Therefor we will be building on work done in the Cambridge 2009 project, that introduced beta-carotene synthesis in E. coli, and contribute an enzyme that will catalyze cleavage of beta-carotene into retinal.
We suggest that our system will also be convertible to a mixing device, for mixing fluids in micro-capillaries, and other related environments.
All sub-project will contribute new parts to the registry.
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