Team:KULeuven/Old

My Mission
I belong to a class of odour producing bacteria: ‘Essencia coli’. My special asset is Vanilla. Not only can I produce a sweet vanilla smell in the form of the molecule Vanillin, I can also keep its concentration at a constant level. To achieve this, I use a state of the art feedback mechanism.

Vanillin synthesis is initiated by irradiation with blue light. The preferred concentration can be modulated using the intensity of that light. At the same time I can measure the amount of Vanillin outside the cell and control its production to maintain the set point.

This concept is universal: it can easily be applied to all odours, but also expanded to flavours. In short, any application that requires a constant concentration of a molecular substance.

Do you want to know more about me and other Essencia coli? You can study my anatomy and physiology at the project page

My Team
After the first –and succesful– participation last year, we want to continue with the same enthusiasm. This year, we expanded our team with biomedical students. Together with engineers, bio‐engineers, scientists and all our instructors and advisors, we are the iGEM 2009 K.U.Leuven Team!