Project Description
By modifying E.coli so that it can use a phytochrome- with a light receptor- from cyanobacteria as a trigger of protein generation. This pathway is controlled by a certain wavelength of red light, acting as a system switch for lacZ production. LacZ can react with substrate X-gal and form a blue precipitate as a reporter. However, other reporter genes can be attached to the lacZ gene, so different reporters can be expressed. From the fact that this mechanism is sensitive to a certain wavelength of light, we hope to create a system that can be sensitive to various wavelengths and hence triggering different protein generation. Through this the E.coli can become a wavelength sensor; a different wavelength can trigger a different production of protein, for example various types of fluorescent protein, giving a different a colour-scaled indication of the wavelength of the environment around the E.coli.
Our aim is to design an E.coli system that is sensitive to multiple wavelengths of light and therefore produce a colour indication of the specific wavelength it is exposed to. A pictorial description is shown below:
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