Team:Virginia

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<a class="team" href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/People"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/icons/team.gif">People</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/icons/project.gif">Projects&nbsp;</a><span onClick="showHide('projects')" class=expander>&raquo;</span><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#ga">Genetic Attenuators</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#ph">BioBrick Placeholders</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#bp">BioPlastic</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#rsbp">Adding to the RSBP</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Parts"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/icons/parts.gif">BioBricks</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Results"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/icons/modeling.gif">Results</a><br>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Notebook"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/icons/notebook.gif">Notebook</a><br>
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<br><span>We'd like to thank our generous sponsors for making our work possible:</span><br>
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<img class="logos" src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/uva-logo-patch.png" alt="University of Virginia" title="University of Virginia" /><img class="logos" src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/dupont.gif" alt="duPont" title="duPont" />
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<h2>Transcription attenuation for metabolic control by engineering intrinsic terminators</h2>
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<p>A main challenge in constructing synthetic biological systems is the inability to precisely regulate gene expression using artificial means. Tightly-regulated control of any given set of related transcriptional, translational and posttranslational events will likely require a combination of powerful strategies. Therefore, the 2008 Virginia iGEM team is developing a library of transcriptional terminators intentionally redesigned to be functionally inefficient. Well-characterized, standardized terminators of various efficiencies should allow finely-tuned transcription attenuation and represents yet another step toward global biological control. This work complements other gene expression control methods that focus on initiation of transcription. The desired result is quantitative control of transcript levels, which is often necessary to balance flux through a synthetic metabolic pathway. To demonstrate its potential for real-world application, the team is planning to employ this approach to control the expression of a heterologous pathway in E. coli for the biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable polyester plastic.</p>
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<h2>UNDER CONSTRUCTION</h2>
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<h3>Genetic Attenuators</h3>
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<p>Welcome to the Virginia Genetically Engineered Machine Team's official iGEM wiki! The VGEM team is in its
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<p>Getting in control of transcription</p>
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second year of competition and is looking forward to participating in the 2008 iGEM Jamboree.<p>
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<p>Terminators are never 100% efficient, meaning that not all polymerases will disengage from the strand they are operating on. This phenomenon can be exploited to create inefficient terminators we call <i>Genetic Attentuators</i>. Inserting a <i>Genetic Attenuator</i> between two genes will result in different levels of two transcripts. The levels of polycistronic mRNA will be lower than the levels of mRNA corresponding to only the upstream gene. How much lower depends on the efficiency of the attenuator.</p>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#ga"><img src="http://partsregistry.org/wiki/images/f/f4/Mfold-B0012-1.png" width=340 /></a>
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<span>&nbsp;</span>
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Synthetic biological systems are useful both to empirically study fundamental biological behavior and to solve applied biological problems.  One of the main challenges in constructing synthetic biological systems is the inability to precisely regulate gene expression using artificial means. It is likely that only a combination of powerful strategies will result in tightly-regulated control of any given set of related transcriptional, translational and posttranslational events, which is crucial to advancing the field of synthetic biology. Therefore, the 2008 VGEM Team is developing a new tool for biological engineering, transcriptional terminators intentionally redesigned to be functionally inefficient. A well-characterized library of standardized transcriptional terminators of various efficiencies should allow finely-tuned transcriptional attenuation by controlling termination efficiency and represents yet another step toward global biological control. This work represents a complimentary approach to other gene expression control methods that focus on initiation of transcription.  The desired result is precise, quantitative control of transcript levels, which is often necessary to balance flux through a synthetic metabolic pathway. To demonstrate its potential for real-world application, the team is planning to employ this approach to control the expression of a heterologous pathway in E. coli for the synthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable polyester plastic derived from renewable biomass, not from petroleum sources.
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<h3>BioBrick Placeholders</h3>
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<p>A new technical standard!</p>
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<p>Assembling composite BioBricks is a tedious procedure that consumes valuable time. When assembling several BioBricks, it would be nice to be able to insert a BioBrick Placeholder that could later be used to insert a BioBrick part. <i>BioBrick Placeholders</i> accomplish this task by providing internal restriction sites compatible with the standard BioBrick restriction sites.</p>
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<center><a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#ph"><img src="http://partsregistry.org/wiki/images/f/ff/Bricks.png" style="margin-top:140px;margin-bottom: 5px;"></a></center>
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<span>&nbsp;</span>
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<h3>BioPlastic</h3>
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<p>Growing a renewable resource</p>
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<p>Polyhydroybutyrate (PHB) is a polykydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a polyester polymer that is naturally synthesized by certain microorganisms. There is enormous potential for PHB production as a plastic material due to the fact that it has similar physical properties of polypropylene, a ubiquitous thermoplastic polymer derived from petroleum. Furthermore, PHB is biologically degradable.</p>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#bp"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/pathway-small.jpg" style="margin-top:165px; margin-bottom: 5px;" /></a>
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<span>&nbsp;</span>
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<h3>Additions to the Registry</h3>
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<p>Giving back</p>
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<p>In addition to adding our Genetic Attenuators, BioBrick Placeholders and bioplastic parts to the Registry, we have also submitted parts that code for orange fluorescent protein (OFP), strongly enhanced blue fluorescent protein (SBFP2) and streptomycin 3'-adenyltransferase, which enables resistance to the antibiotic streptomycin</p>
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<a href="https://2008.igem.org/Team:Virginia/Project#rsbp"><img src="http://people.virginia.edu/~drt5p/VGEM/finalwiki/vgem-ofp.jpg" width=350 /></a>
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<span>&nbsp;</span>
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Latest revision as of 03:53, 30 October 2008


Home
People
Projects »
BioBricks
Results
Notebook
Locations of visitors to this page
We'd like to thank our generous sponsors for making our work possible:
University of VirginiaduPont

Transcription attenuation for metabolic control by engineering intrinsic terminators

A main challenge in constructing synthetic biological systems is the inability to precisely regulate gene expression using artificial means. Tightly-regulated control of any given set of related transcriptional, translational and posttranslational events will likely require a combination of powerful strategies. Therefore, the 2008 Virginia iGEM team is developing a library of transcriptional terminators intentionally redesigned to be functionally inefficient. Well-characterized, standardized terminators of various efficiencies should allow finely-tuned transcription attenuation and represents yet another step toward global biological control. This work complements other gene expression control methods that focus on initiation of transcription. The desired result is quantitative control of transcript levels, which is often necessary to balance flux through a synthetic metabolic pathway. To demonstrate its potential for real-world application, the team is planning to employ this approach to control the expression of a heterologous pathway in E. coli for the biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable polyester plastic.

Genetic Attenuators

Getting in control of transcription

Terminators are never 100% efficient, meaning that not all polymerases will disengage from the strand they are operating on. This phenomenon can be exploited to create inefficient terminators we call Genetic Attentuators. Inserting a Genetic Attenuator between two genes will result in different levels of two transcripts. The levels of polycistronic mRNA will be lower than the levels of mRNA corresponding to only the upstream gene. How much lower depends on the efficiency of the attenuator.

 

BioBrick Placeholders

A new technical standard!

Assembling composite BioBricks is a tedious procedure that consumes valuable time. When assembling several BioBricks, it would be nice to be able to insert a BioBrick Placeholder that could later be used to insert a BioBrick part. BioBrick Placeholders accomplish this task by providing internal restriction sites compatible with the standard BioBrick restriction sites.

 

BioPlastic

Growing a renewable resource

Polyhydroybutyrate (PHB) is a polykydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a polyester polymer that is naturally synthesized by certain microorganisms. There is enormous potential for PHB production as a plastic material due to the fact that it has similar physical properties of polypropylene, a ubiquitous thermoplastic polymer derived from petroleum. Furthermore, PHB is biologically degradable.

 

Additions to the Registry

Giving back

In addition to adding our Genetic Attenuators, BioBrick Placeholders and bioplastic parts to the Registry, we have also submitted parts that code for orange fluorescent protein (OFP), strongly enhanced blue fluorescent protein (SBFP2) and streptomycin 3'-adenyltransferase, which enables resistance to the antibiotic streptomycin