Our project tests the limits to which biology can be standardized. Towards this goal, the endogenous promoter of every essential gene will be replaced with one of seven standard promoters producing different expression levels. The terminator of every essential gene will also be replaced with a standard biobrick terminator. The promoters and terminators are biobrick parts and are currently being functionally tested. To determine which promoter to pair with which gene, microarray expression data from the literature was used.

• streamlined amplification of genes from genomic DNA, as amplicons can all start precisely at the start codon. No data about where the endogenous promoter begins is required.
< potential for easy manipulation of gene expression levels: the same gene part can easily be assembled with different promoters to test the effect of different expression levels.
• we need not be concerned about including all the transcription factors need to express the essential genes.
• as the location and properties of many promoters are unknown, using all standardized promoters results in a much better characterized system that is more amenable to manipulation.