Metal Sponge

Introduction

From our meeting with Prof. Nigel Robinson it was evident that the best way of getting cadmium into the spore is to express a metallothionein, which would 'soak up' the cadmium, which would be then trapped within the protein, within the spore. Using the smtA metallothionein from E.coli using the CotC coat protein as a fusion partner, the metallothionein could in theory be localised to the spore coat as it forms (under control of mother cell specific SigK). Craig's 2p: It looks as though about 25 - 30% of the cell volume ends up in the forespore (and ultimately the spore). I'll assume that our cell was "full" cadmium at the formation of the forespore, because we have knocked out or repressed cadmium efflux. So cadmium will not be effluxed from the forespore back to the mother cell or out into the environment.

Novelty in this sub-project

Modelling

BioBrick constructs

Lab Work Strategies

Concentrating cadmium in the spore

cadA efflux system

In B. Subtilis cation efflux is by an antiporter. Cd, Co, Zn are pumped out by ATPase dependant systems of the CDF family.

20 – 21 June 2009 - Europe workshop (London)
23 – 24 June 2009 - UK iGEM meetup (Edinburgh)
23 October Practice Presentation (Newcastle)
23 October T-shirts are ready
27 October Practice Presentation (Sunderland)
27 October Poster is ready
30 October – 2 November 2009 - Jamboree (Boston)

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From 2009.igem.org