Vincent 13:42, 6 June 2007 (EDT): feel free to comment on the content of the activity described and its design.
Context
- Following last year | Imperial College participation to iGEM, my group is putting together an exhibit for the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2007.
- We feel it is a great opportunity to engage with the Public on the concepts behind Synthetic Biology.
- The exhibit attracts a diverse audience from school kids to science enthusiasts.
- I have started to design a hands-on activity, and describe its early design below.
Intentions behind the activity
- To set the background in terms of Molecular and Celluar Biology:
- DNA, Central Dogma, Cells and Bacteria
- Genetic Engineering techniques
- To touch on Synthetic Biology concepts:
- BioBricks
- Modularity
- Re-usability
- To give an opportunity to build simple genetic circuits based on opto-electronic components:
- Protein Generator
- Inverter, Toggle switch & Repressilator
- Link circuits with inputs such as: temperature sensor, Infra-red sensor, Touch sensor, Humidity sensor.
- Link circuits with outputs such as: flagella motor, secretion fan.
Overview
Overview
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General setting
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- the activity stands on an oval table, decorated as an E.Coli bacteria.
- on the right side of the table, DNA, gene expression machinery are illustrated.
- the hands on activity is placed on the left side:
- a set of available biobricks implemented as Lego bricks filled with some opto-electronic components.
- a conductive surface
- a set of fiber optics to link the different genetic circuits.
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- the activity offers a set of possible inputs for the genetic circuits to be built:
- temperature sensor (to illustrate heat shock response).
- infra-red sensor - with remote - (to illustrate UV response)
- touch sensor
- humidity sensor
- 2 outputs are also available:
- motor driving some flagella
- fan to illustrate secretion
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Components and Schematics
Constitutive Promoter
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Activated Promoter
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Repressed Promoter
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- Strength of the promoter is set through the potentiometer
- A battery is embedded into the lego brick
- The Lego brick is sealed with a conductive plate to make contact with the table.
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- Activity of the promoter is driven by the amount of light received on the photo-sensor.
- A battery is embedded into the lego brick
- The Lego brick is sealed with a conductive plate to make contact with the table.
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- Activity of the promoter is driven by the amount of light received on the photo-sensor.
- A battery is embedded into the lego brick
- The Lego brick is sealed with a conductive plate to make contact with the table.
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RBS
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Protein Coding Region
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Stop Codon
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- Strength of the RBS is set through the potentiometer
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- a 10-LEDs graph bar is used to indicate the level of expression.
- a LED is used separately to potentially drive another promoter through a fiber optic.
- the Resistor-Capacitor is used to add a delay.
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- The stop codon enables the circuit to connect to earth through the table
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Basic Gene Expression Circuits
Protein Generator
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Fusion Protein Generator
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Monocystronic Protein Generator
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Elementary Genetic Circuits
Inverter
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Repressillator
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