E. lemming is the 2010 iGEM project of ETH Zurich. We intend to control movement of a single E. coli bacterium by hijacking chemotaxis and monitoring of position and direction of the bacterium by image processing algorithms, which are linked to a controller device. Find out more about our motivation and project idea!
We created a short animation about the project idea and general concept of E. lemming. Find out, how we combine biology and information processing to create E. lemming.
By coupling proteins of the chemotaxis pathway to a synthetic light-sensitive spatial localization system, their activity can be controlled reversibly. To find out more about our project on the molecular level and to find information regarding the biological implementation and an overview about the conducted wet laboratory experiments, visit this section.
Mathematical modeling supports analysis of biological systems since the advent of synthetic biology. Find out, how this not only supported wet laboratory experiments by providing time and effort alleviating network structure and experimental setup selection, but also provided a test bench for the information processing part.
Implementation of a comprehensive information processing workflow for controlling E. lemming was achieved by combination of microscopy, image processing, cell detection and a controller. Find out more about how this not only created E. lemming but also created a new application for synthetic biology: Gaming!
We created for E. lemming a BioBrick and a Matlab Toolkit. Find out, how this tools can be used for similar projects and learn more about the unique interworking between engineering and biology, which was necessary for the success of E. lemming.
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