"
Team:Virginia Commonwealth/Overview
From 2009.igem.org
Revision as of 14:48, 21 October 2009 by GMcArthurIV (Talk | contribs)
Motivation
The rational, forward engineering of genetically-encoded biological systems relies partly on 1) the generation of a multitude of genetic parts and 2) the sufficient characterization of these parts. This project aims to contribute to the advancement of synthetic biology by 1) generating and sharing a library of transcriptional enhancers called UP-elements (a new class of BioBrick parts), 2) characterizing strength of transcription initiation by measuring both mRNA and protein levels (by RT-PCR and flow cytometry, respectively) and 3) elucidating UP-element design principles. We hope that the results of this project will be useful to the community.
Safety
- The nature of this project does not raise any unusual safety concerns.
- The local biosafety committee is the VCU School of Engineering Safety Committee.
- One of our advisors, Cindy Lovelace, serves on the committee and makes sure that our team followed all safety guidelines.
- Our new BioBrick parts should not raise any unusual safety concerns.
Background
Background papers related to synthetic biology
