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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 |
