Team:Johns Hopkins/Project

If the goal of iGEM and the Parts Registry is to take the wet and messy world of genetic engineering and transform it into something like the efficient standardized world of electrical engineering, we figured that it might be useful if electronic systems could directly interface with biological systems. In the past this had been done by actuating the release of some substance into media or applying a mechanical stimulus, but why bother with the middle man? Our project seeks to add voltage sensitivity to Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast).

Our project concept stems from the realization that, in some sense, yeast have a system that responds to voltage input. With a voltage stimulus one can open the voltage-gated calcium channels of yeast, causing calcium ions to rush into the cytoplasm. This causes calcineurin to dephosphorylate Crz1, which enters the nucleus and binds various transcription factors. Our group is working to standardize and characterize a small library of both naturally-occurring and synthetic Crz1-activated promoters. Genes downstream of these promoters are thus voltage-regulated in media containing calcium.