Team:DTU Denmark/project

By in silico design and computer modelling followed by gene synthesis, we have constructed a molecular NAD/NADH ratio sensing system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The sensor works as an inducible transcription factor being active only at certain levels of the NAD/NADH ratios. By the coupling of a yeast optimized fast degradable GFP, the system can be used for in vivo monitoring of NAD/NADH redox poise. A future novel application of the system is heterologous redox coupled protein production in yeast.

Another part of our project is the proposal of a new parts-assembly standard for Biobricks based on USER(TradeMark) cloning. With this technique, not based on restriction enzymes, all parts independent of function can be assembled without leaving any scars from the restriction enzyme digestions.

“Synthetic Biology is an art of engineering new biological systems that don’t exist in nature.”

-Paras Chopra & Akhil Kamma

In nature, biological molecules work together in complex systems to serve purposes of the cell. In synthetic biology these molecules are used as individual functional units that are combined to form tailored systems exhibiting complex dynamical behaviour. From ‘design specifications’ generated from computational modelling, engineering-based approaches enables the construction of such new specified gene-regulatory networks. The ultimate goal of synthetic biology is to construct systems that gain new functions, and the perspectives of the technology are enormous. It has already been used in several medical projects2 and is predicted to play a major role in biotech-production and environmental aspects.