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From 2010.igem.org

Project

The TU Delft iGEM Team 2010 is working on the biological conversion of hydrocarbons in aqueous environments. The project is split in 6 subtopics:

• Conversion of hydrocarbons

The aerobic alkane conversion pathways of medium and long chain (<C36) alkanes from Gordonia sp. TF6 and Geobacillus thermodenitrificans will be the basis of our parts. Read more

• Hydrocarbon tolerance

Hydrocarbons are known to damage the cell membrane and some essential cell proteins. New biobricks will be made inspired by the genes from naturally hydrocarbon tolerant organisms.Read more

• Hydrocarbon solubility

In order to overcome the mass‐transfer limitation of hydrocarbons to water we will clone two genes coding for proteins with emulsifying capabilities. Read more

• Halotolerance

High salt concentrations are toxic to many microorganisms. Our aim is to create a biobrick which will facilitate cell growth at increased salt concentrations. Read more

• Genetic regulation

An alkane sensing mechanisms coupled to the catabolic repression system (crp) produces enzymes for hydrocarbon degradation when needed. Read more

• Genome‐scale modeling

Modeling approaches are used to explore the possibilities of valuable product formation from hydrocarbons. Read more

• RBS Characterization

The Registry contains many uncharacterized Ribosome Binding Sites of which we will determine the strength. Read more

The tasks of the team are roughly be divided into two groups. One group will deal mainly with the aspects related to the modeling and design of the synthetic system. A second group of students will mainly carry out the wet lab work.

Also the ethical and safety issues posed by synthetic biology will be considered. The synthesis of a DNA strand representing a set of genes arbitrarily chosen by the designer, and its insertion in a living cell will, in general, provide the host cell, with new emerging properties that were not present in the original organisms. This poses several challenges in terms of safety and ethics that need to be addressed within the project.