BME494s2013 Project Team3: Difference between revisions
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- If we were to make the switch dependent on a tumor antigen input, the system could potentially detect a cancer cell and switch on, at which point it could produce synthetic antibodies as outputs, which could potentially speed up the host's immunologic response. Additionally, researches could experiment using different output proteins to see which ones would be most effective in neutralizing cancer cells while reducing damage to neighboring cells.<br> | - If we were to make the switch dependent on a tumor antigen input, the system could potentially detect a cancer cell and switch on, at which point it could produce synthetic antibodies as outputs, which could potentially speed up the host's immunologic response. Additionally, researches could experiment using different output proteins to see which ones would be most effective in neutralizing cancer cells while reducing damage to neighboring cells.<br><br> | ||
- By switching the promoters at the beginning of the system to respond to some other input, and changing the output protein into one that could initiate cell monomors to combine and replicate, the system could potentially produce valuable bioplastics. Because today the the production of plastics is very energy intensive, using engineered biological cells to produce them may prove to be environmentally, if not commercially, viable. <br> | - By switching the promoters at the beginning of the system to respond to some other input, and changing the output protein into one that could initiate cell monomors to combine and replicate, the system could potentially produce valuable bioplastics. Because today the the production of plastics is very energy intensive, using engineered biological cells to produce them may prove to be environmentally, if not commercially, viable. <br><br> | ||
-Additionally, because DNA can hold thousands upon thousands combinations of amino acids, the system may provide a quick, safe, and cheap way to store data. By manipulating logic gates to respond to user-initiated inputs, the cells could act like biological computers that could record their activities for a very long time. Even when the cell dies, its DNA could be retrieved and its data analyzed. <br> | -Additionally, because DNA can hold thousands upon thousands combinations of amino acids, the system may provide a quick, safe, and cheap way to store data. By manipulating logic gates to respond to user-initiated inputs, the cells could act like biological computers that could record their activities for a very long time. Even when the cell dies, its DNA could be retrieved and its data analyzed. <br><br> | ||
Revision as of 13:49, 29 April 2013
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Overview & PurposeBy modifying the input and output for the Lac switch, it may be possible to produce materials such as plastics. The switch could be triggered by another environmental factor other than [IPTG], and instead of producing GFP, more useful materials like plastic could be an output. Currently, production of plastics is a very energy intensive process, and by using bacteria for the production, we can save energy and limit waste into the environment.
BackgroundThe natural Lac-operon has 2 controls that tightly regulate the production of the proteins necessary for the breakdown of lactose. In the presence of glucose, the Lac Operon inhibits the production of those proteins. When glucose is present, the lac repressor is bound to the operator, prohibiting the transcription of the proteins. In the presence of lactose, lactose is able to bind to the lac repressor initiating a conformation change in the repressor protein, causing it to release and allow for transcription. This, however, is not the only control in place. It is incredibly energy intensive to produce the proteins necessary for the breakdown of lactose, so when there is glucose present, the glucose will be metabolized first, even with some lactose present. This is accomplished by the presence of a second regulatory device, cyclic AMP (cAMP). cAMP is present only when there are very low levels of glucose found in the environment. cAMP serves as an activator and binds to RNA polymerase allowing for transcription of the output proteins.
Design: Our genetic circuitOUR GENE SWITCH: The functionality of our genetic switch resembles that of an "AND" logic gate: the device requires two conditions to be true in order for an output to be produced. One conditional requirement is that IPTG must be present in the device's environment. When IPTG is present, it binds to the LacI repressor, thus allowing for transcription to continue. The other conditional requirement is that glucose levels in the device's environment must be low. Glucose levels inversely affect production of cyclic AMP (cAMP): when glucose levels are low, cAMP production increases and when glucose levels are high, cAMP production decreases. cAMP binds to catabolite activator protein (CAP) to form the CAP-cAMP complex. In order for this complex to form, cAMP must be present and, thus, glucose levels must be low.[1] The CAP-cAMP complex is an input that our device requires in order to produce an output. In the natural lac operon, the CAP-cAMP complex leads to enhanced activation of gene expression from the lac operon. However, if glucose is present, cAMP levels will in turn be low and the host will preferentially metabolize glucose even if lactose is present.
Building: Assembly SchemeTo form the build the lac switch, the group used Type IIs Assembly, which allows the the parts to be assembled in one step. For this type of assembly, forward and reverse primers needed to be created and placed in the system so as to create sticky ends that can bind various parts together in a specified order. Additionally, site-directed mutagenesis need be performed so as to remove the Bsmb1 cut-site in the promoter region.
Testing: Modeling and GFP ImagingA LAC SWITCH MODEL
We used a previously published synthetic switch, developed by Ceroni et al.[2], to understand how our system could potentially be modeled and simulated. Mathematical modeling is a method of representing via the language of math how a system is expected to behave. The various components of a system, referred to as system parameters, are assigned variable names. These variables hold values that can be adjusted during testing without incurring what would otherwise be additional production costs. Modeling is very beneficial in that multiple tests and simulations can be performed on the system so that a predictable pattern of behavior can be developed, thus reducing production costs. We modeled our device after the Ceroni switch, using similar variables and parameters to represent the various components and processes of our device. The graphic to the right depicts these components and the variables used to represent them in a mathematical model. The following table contains the variables and parameters used both in our model and the Ceroni et al., model.
AN INTERACTIVE MODEL
When interacting with the MATLAB model, we were able to analyze three outputs: concentration of IPTG over time, concentration of β-galactosidase (Bgal) over time, and mRNA concentration over time. Our focus was on how the concentration of Bgal changed over time as we adjusted the input concentration of IPTG. The default concentration of IPTG was set to 0.32 mM. The Bgal concentration over time when the input IPTG was set to this value can be seen in Image 1 to the right. Next, we adjusted the concentration of IPTG to attempt to find a value that would allow for sustained output of Bgal over time. We determined the best estimate of IPTG concentration to sustain a relatively constant output of Bgal over time was 0.0639 mM of IPTG. At this concentration of IPTG, the sustained output value of Bgal was approximately 2.54 x 10-4 mM. The resulting data can be seen in Image 2 on the right. Finally, we adjusted the concentration of IPTG to attempt to find a value that would result in no Bgal being produced. We were able to determine that the lowest value of IPTG concentration that did produce a Bgal output was 0.021 mM of IPTG. Any concentration of IPTG below this value resulted in the lowest observable output of Bgal: approximately 0.4 x 10-5. However, even at this concentration of IPTG, trace amounts of mRNA were still present in the system. These amounts decreased immediately after our model started to run but were still high enough to continue to initially drive transcription. Thus, an initial spike of Bgal output was observed at 0.021 mM of IPTG. Shortly after almost all mRNA had degraded, the total amount of Bgal had degraded to the minimum threshold value of 0.4 x 10-5. Because the mRNA in the system never completely degraded, we never observed a complete lack of Bgal output. The resulting data can be seen in Image 3 to the right.
COLLECTING EMPIRICAL VALUES TO IMPROVE THE MODEL
Human Practices
- By switching the promoters at the beginning of the system to respond to some other input, and changing the output protein into one that could initiate cell monomors to combine and replicate, the system could potentially produce valuable bioplastics. Because today the the production of plastics is very energy intensive, using engineered biological cells to produce them may prove to be environmentally, if not commercially, viable. -Additionally, because DNA can hold thousands upon thousands combinations of amino acids, the system may provide a quick, safe, and cheap way to store data. By manipulating logic gates to respond to user-initiated inputs, the cells could act like biological computers that could record their activities for a very long time. Even when the cell dies, its DNA could be retrieved and its data analyzed.
Our Team
Works Cited
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