Team:Wash U

From 2009.igem.org

Revision as of 21:37, 8 July 2009 by Brendan1 (Talk | contribs)

Available Languages

Currently Under Construction
Espanol Francais Deutsch 中文 日本語

Our Team Our Project


Team

The first ever Washington University iGEM team is composed of nine undergraduate juniors and seniors majoring in Biology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Under the leadership of Dr. Blankenship (Biology and Chemistry departments), our team plans to synthetically regulate expression of the photosynthetic machinery, which we believe is a first for both iGEM and synthetic biology. To learn more about our highly motivated and well-trained team, please click here.

Project

Our goal for this project is to increase photosynthetic efficiency in the purple bacterium Rhodobacter Sphaeroides by altering the regulation of the light harvesting antenna LH2. This antenna complex surrounds and harvests photons for the reaction center, where light energy is converted to chemical energy. We plan to utilize a synthetic light sensing system that will result in an output of a low number of LH2 complexes at high light intensities and a greater number of LH2 complexes at low light intensities. This project is intended to serve as a proof in principle that light harvesting antenna sizes may be synthetically and dynamically tailored to incidental light intensity in order to increase photosynthetic efficiency in a bioreactor. To learn more about our project, please click here.

What Is iGEM?

iGEM stands for international Genetically Engineered Machine and is a global undergraduate research competition in synthetic biology. Each team receives the same kit of biological parts from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts and by recombining these with new parts of their own come up with biological systems that function in living baterial cells.
The competition features the emerging field of Synthetic Biology which combines Biology, Chemistry and Engineering. Scientists use various techniques to manipulate an organism's DNA and thereby change its function. Synthetic Biology promises to create novel systems that will benefit society across a broad spectrum.

Contact

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at washu.igem@gmail.com
Or feel free to leave a comment on our wall.



Locations of visitors to this page