Revision as of 11:17, 10 September 2014

Cambridge iGEM 2014

Project

Marchantia polymorpha as an open-source sensing platform

Project Mosbi Overview

Sensing is an essential aspect of engineering: we need information about the world to make intelligent efforts to manipulate it. Ideal sensors are reliable, accurate and intuitive. Plants as biosensors have the potential to fulfil these requirements with the further benefit of being inexpensive and self-reproducing. Marchantia polymorpha is a plant chassis that makes an exceptional candidate:

We are introducing Marchantia polymorpha as a flexible, open source biosensor using a modular genetic circuit. Our aim is to produce input, processing and output modules in separate plants that can be recombined through Mendelian crossing. Our dream is to make plant biosensors accessible to the home enthusiast in the same way that electronics has been made accessible by Arduino.

The genetic framework consists of three modules: input, processing and output. These modules are linked using transcription factors and inducible promoters. By interchanging inputs and outputs, Mösbi can be designed and adapted to sense myriad conditions or chemicals indicated by reporters that suit the user context. The flexibility of this modular framework allows many devices to be constructed from the same library of components.

Introducing Marchantia

Marchantia polymorpha is a liverwort, primitive member of the bryophyte (non-vascular) group. It can be found worldwide, from tropical to arctic climates and urban areas. It grows in damp habitats, such as banks of pools and rivers, bogs, fens and dune slacks. After fires, Marchantia rapidly colonizes the burnt ground, restoring an eco-stystem. The plant possesses thalli are a few centimeters wide, small translucent root-like structures called rhizoids and characeristic umbrella-shaped reproductive structures (archegonia) earning it the 'umbrella liverwort' nickname.

Marchantia is haploid in its growth phase.

Our dream is to produce input, processing and output modules in separate plants which can be combined through Mendelian crossing. We want to make plant biosensors accessible to the home enthusiast in the same way that electronics has been made accessible by Arduino.

Project Description and History

Content

References

Overall project summary
Project Details
Materials and Methods
The Experiments
Results
Data analysis
Conclusions

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 <h1>Project Mosbi Overview</h1>
 <p>
-Sensing is an essential aspect of engineering. We need information about the world to make intelligent efforts to manipulate it. Ideal sensors are reliable, accurate and unobtrusive. Plants as biosensors fulfill these requirements and have the further benefit of being inexpensive and self-reproducing.
+Sensing is an essential aspect of engineering: we need information about the world to make intelligent efforts to manipulate it. Ideal sensors are reliable, accurate and intuitive. Plants as biosensors have the potential to fulfil these requirements with the further benefit of being inexpensive and self-reproducing. Marchantia polymorpha is a plant chassis that makes an exceptional candidate:
 </p>
 <p>
-Our aim is to use the lower plant Marchantia polymorpha as a flexible, open source biosensor. The input, processing and output abilities are each parceled into separate modules which are linked using transcription factors and inducible promoters. Modules can be interchanged, so by swapping one input or output for another, PhytoSpy can flexibly be used to sense any condition or chemical, and report it in any way that a module has been designed for. This modular framework allows many devices to be constructed from the same library of components.
+We are introducing Marchantia polymorpha as a flexible, open source biosensor using a modular genetic circuit. Our aim is to produce input, processing and output modules in separate plants that can be recombined through Mendelian crossing. Our dream is to make plant biosensors accessible to the home enthusiast in the same way that electronics has been made accessible by Arduino.
 </p>
 <p>
-Our dream is to produce input, processing and output modules in separate plants which can be combined through Mendelian crossing. We want to make plant biosensors accessible to the home enthusiast in the same way that electronics has been made accessible by Arduino.
+The genetic framework consists of three modules: input, processing and output. These modules are linked  using transcription factors and inducible promoters. By interchanging inputs and outputs, Mösbi can be designed and adapted to sense myriad conditions or chemicals indicated by reporters that suit the user context. The flexibility of this modular framework allows many devices to be constructed from the same library of components.
 </p>
 <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/3/30/InitialCircuitDiagram.PNG">

Team:Cambridge-JIC/Project

From 2014.igem.org