Team:SDU-Denmark/Tour51

From 2014.igem.org

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<h3> An expert opinion </h3>
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<br>
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<h4>Outreach in Ghana</h4>
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<p>
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<div class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:450px">
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<table>
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<tr>
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  <td><p><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Facts about Ghana</font></b></p></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Geographic location:</font></b></td>
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  <td>Coastal country of West Africa</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Population:</font></b></td>
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  <td><span class="sourceReference"> 25,366,000</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
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    World Health Organization, 2014: WHO African region: Ghana.
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<a href="http://www.who.int/countries/gha/en/" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
 +
</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Population under 15 years:</font></b></td>
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  <td><span class="sourceReference">38.59 %</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gha_en.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
 +
</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Nutritional status of children:</font></b></td>
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  <td>28% are stunted, 9% wasted and 14% <span class="sourceReference"> underweight.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gha_en.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
 +
</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Diet:</font></b></td>
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  <td>Starchy roots, fruit and edible <span class="sourceReference"> grains.</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
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    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/nutrition/GHA_en.stm" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Coverage needs (micronutrients and vitamins):</font></b></td>
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  <td>Primarily iodine and <span class="sourceReference"> vitamin A.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
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    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/nutrition/GHA_en.stm" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Causes of mortality:</font></b></td>
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  <td>Bad access to health services, safe water and sanitation. High incidence of Malaria. <span class="sourceReference"> Malnutrition.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/nutrition/GHA_en.stm" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
 +
</div>
 +
<span class="intro">When generating nutrition made of bacteria</span> our team pointed it's contribution to the considerable task of
 +
providing accurate nutrient to developing countries. The contradiction between a common opinion of how
 +
food is produced and finding a solution to obtaining food in the future has been a key issue to our
 +
project. Furthermore, the ethical and social aspects to our project are decisive to include.<br><br>
 +
<span class="intro">This means that we have considered</span> what good research is. Good research includes the common opinion
 +
in society, and for this reason outreach in Ghana provided us with different standpoints to our
 +
project.<br><br>
 +
</p>
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<!--requirements section -->
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<h4>Interview with Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei:</h4>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h3>Lab Journal</h3></td></tr>
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<p>
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</tr>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:320px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/2/22/2014SDUghana1.PNG" title="Dr. Yaa Difie-Osie from the National Biosafety Committee, Ghana.">
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  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/2/22/2014SDUghana1.PNG" style="width:320px" />
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Dr. Yaa Difie-Osie from the National Biosafety Committee, Ghana.
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</a>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h4>Week 25 (16/6 - 22/6)</h4></td></tr>
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<span class="intro">Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry,</span> Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei (Dr. Yaa), agreed to meet with our team member Anne,
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</tr>
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during her stay in the capital of Ghana, Accra, in August. The purpose was to talk about GMOs in relation
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Monday 16/6 </h5></td></tr>
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to our Edible coli. The interview was held at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
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</tr>
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at the University of Ghana in Legon. Dr. Yaa has previously worked at the university herself but is now retired
 +
from her position as lecturer. Dr. Yaa is still involved in
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the development of synthetic biology in Ghana as a member of the National Biosafety Committee of Ghana.
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The fact that Dr. Yaa has much experience regarding synthetic biology and at the same time is a member of
 +
the National Biosafety Committee makes her expertise significant to our project.<br><br>
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<tr>
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<span class="intro">When Dr. Yaa heard about</span> our iGEM project she expressed great interest and there was a clear
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">  
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understanding and acknowledgement of the concepts of iGEM. Dr. Yaa spoke very passionately of
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<p>We started our work in the wet lab with a three days lab crash course. We learned basics, as running a PCR, and where we can find everything that is needed for working in the lab. In addition, we talked a lot about the project goals and the way of getting there.</p>
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GMOs and made it clear that GMOs would be a considerable solution to malnutrition, which is a recurring
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</td>
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motif in Ghana. As a member of the Safety Committee, Dr. Yaa had recently contributed to the approval of  
 +
four GMO projects in Ghana. The four GMO projects include protein rich sweet potato and cotton with
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pesticides integrated into the genom (BT-cotton). The projects have got permits to do research but the research
 +
will be subject to strict rules concerning biosafety, management of risks in biochemistry and national
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Tuesday 17/6 </h5></td></tr>
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<span class="sourceReference"> biosafety.</span>
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</tr>
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<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    A.A. Adenle et al.: Status of development, regulation and adoption of GM agriculture in Africa: Views and positions of stakeholder groups. Food Policy. 2013:43,159-166.
 +
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919213001346" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span><br><br>
 +
<span class="intro">Dr. Yaa spoke of GMO</span> as an important step forward. The positive effects of GMOs related to farmers and the general population of Ghana were among others the following:<br><br>
 +
<b>Farmers:</b>
 +
<ul>
 +
<li>Reduction of chemicals in farming</li>
 +
<li>Improvement of health</li>
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<li>Saving time for the farmers</li>
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<li>Saving tractor fuel, in relation to Green House Gasses.</li>
 +
</ul><br>
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<tr>
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<b>General population:</b>
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<td width="45%" valign="top">  
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<ul>
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<p> In the lab: The PCR reactions from yeasterday didn't work, so they were repeated. This time 50 µL PCR reaction were prepared. Gel purification was performed on the PCR products and the final concentration was measured by nanodrop.</p>
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<li>Nutritional balance</li>
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<p>We digested the products by using restriction enzymes XbaI og SpeI. We detected that the plasmid was only linearized, meaning that only one restriction enzyme/ restriction site was functional.</p>
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<li>Prevention of children suffering from malnutrition</li>
 +
<li>Improvement of health</li>
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<li>Reduction of intolerance. As an example lactose intolerance was given, where GMO could be
 +
accommodated by producing milk containing lactase, which is an enzyme one lacks when
 +
lactose
 +
<span class="sourceReference"> intolerant</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Swallow, D.M.: Genetics of Lactase Persistence and Lactoseintolerance.
 +
Annu.Rev.Genet,2003.37:197-219.
 +
<a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.genet.37.110801.143820" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></li>
 +
</ul><br>
 +
<span class="intro">There is much focus on the fact</span> that child mortality has decreased due to improvement in
 +
<span class="sourceReference"> child health.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Child Mortality Estimates, 2014: Under-five mortality rate
 +
<a href="http://www.childmortality.org/index.php?r=site/graph&ID=GHA_Ghana" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span>
 +
Meanwhile the nutritional status of children in Ghana still remains a
 +
<span class="sourceReference"> challenge.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance.
 +
<a href="http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gha_en.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span>
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<p>We worked on the basics in the iGEM concept. We discussed the definitions of biobrick, basis part, composite part and deviced. We learned the "Standard Assembly Method", it's condition, uses and limitations.</p>
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<img align="right" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/e/e4/2014SDUghana13.png" style="width:250px" />
 +
By introducing GMOs this issue could potentially be reduced. However, the ethical aspects of introducing
 +
GMOs as relief-aid for hunger or malnutrition must be subject to consideration, according to Dr.
 +
Yaa. Personally, Dr. Yaa did not think of GMO as unethical if the purpose was relief of hunger or
 +
malnutrition. However, it would be necessary to educate the population so that they would have a foundation for decisions regarding the use of GMOs as a nutrition source.
 +
Dr. Yaa mentioned the importance of considering indications producing genetically modified
 +
organism. The hypothetical GMO should have relevance in a way that promises improvement of lifestyle or
 +
brings good quality to something.
 +
Furthermore, it would be necessary to demonstrate the safety of the GMO. This would include risk
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assessments such as inspection of the organism when separated from its natural surroundings. It would
 +
additionally be crucial that the commercial releases were informative so that the consumers would receive
 +
the essential information.<br><br>
-
<p>We defined the conditions for our own device and started searching for the necessary parts in the iGEM registry.</p>
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<span class="intro">According to Dr Yaa</span> the objections to GMOs seen from a religious point of view could be a problem in the
-
</td>
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beginning but it would not persist. Consequently, development of GMOs would entail that the genes, which
 +
were used to modify the organisms, should be picked with concern. For instance, genes from a pig would
 +
cause a revolt coming from the religious community.<br><br>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Wednesday 18/6 </h5></td></tr>
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<h4>Interview with Prof. George Armah</h4>
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>We digested two plasmid, each with the enzymes XbaI and EcoRI. Unfortunately it didn’t work as expected, as XbaI did not cut. We made some control experiments to check this and concluded that one of the plasmids might miss the E restriction site.</p>
+
-
 
+
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<p>We recieved lab safety training.</p>
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-
</td>
+
-
 
+
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Friday 20/6 </h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>Team page and Notebook page added to the wiki. </p>
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-
 
+
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<p>Two PCR reactions were made to amplify plasmids from the iGEM 2014 kit. The gel, that was ran afterwards, showed bands in the right length. The bands were cut out and purified.</p>
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Saturday 21/6 </h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
+
-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>All the pipettes were calibrated </p>
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<p>A K12 MG1655 strain was plated out on agar, to colonize overnight, in order for us to produce more plasmid later on.</p>
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-
</td>
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-
 
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Sunday 22/6 </h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
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-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>One bacterial colony from the agar plate from yesterday was transferred to fluid LB media to amplify WT bacteria.
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TSB buffer was made.
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A transformation was made.</p>
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+
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</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h4>Week 26 (23/6 - 29/6)</h4></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Monday 23/6</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>The transformation from yesterday has not been successful.</p>
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<p>New plates with Ampicilin, Kanamycin and Chloramphenicol were made.</p>
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</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Wednesday 25/6</h5></td></tr>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p> A transformation was made.</p>
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</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Thursday 26/6</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>The transformation from yesterday has been partly successful. One plate had no colonies. For the transformations that were successful an ON was made.</p>
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<p>The cultures should be prepared for storage at -80°C tomorrow.</p>
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</td>
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-
 
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Friday 27/6</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>Freezing stocks were made out of the ON from yesterday. The samples were then stored at -80°C.</p>
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</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Saturday 28/6</h5></td></tr>
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</tr>
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-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>The non-successful transformation from Wednesday 25/6 was repeated.</p>
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</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Sunday 29/6</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>The transformation was partially successful. There were some, but very few, visible colonies on the agar plates. Two overnight cultures were prepared from one colony respectively.</p>
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</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h4>Week 27 (30/6 - 6/7)</h4></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Monday 30/6</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>The overnight culture was not red, as expected, which means that something was wrong with the plasmid. Therefore a new overnight culture was prepared, so that a Colony PCR can be performed on the cultures. Furthermore an overnight culture was prepared of the wild type E. coli strain, so that it can be used for transformation tomorrow.</p>
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-
</td>
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-
 
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Tuesday 1/7</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
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-
<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>Today a Colony PCR was performed on the E. coli MG1655 strains with the plasmids: pSB1A3, pSB1C3, pSB1K3 and J04450 (also known as aza). The results showed that the constructs all had approximately the same weight, just below 1500 bp. This corresponds to the theoretical weight of the constructs, which is 1382 bp.</p>
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-
 
+
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<p>The development of the construct used to produce lacI was commenced. This was done by first running Phusion PCR on lacI (BBa_I732100, Template 8A, Plate 3). The PCR product was then analysed on gel-electrophoresis and purified.</p>
+
-
 
+
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<p>Transformation was performed on the plasmids pSB1C3 and pSB1K3 as the former transformation was unsuccessful. Furthermore transformation was also performed on the parts BBa_R0010 (lacP promoter) and BBa_E0840 (GFP coding seq.). The transformed E. coli were put on agar plates with antibiotic according to their respective resistance. The plates were placed in the heating cabinet and should be examined for colonies tomorrow.</p>
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+
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</tr>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Wednesday 2/7</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
 
+
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<p>Because the PCR on lacI from yesterday yielded a low concentration, Phusion PCR was repeated today, where both the PCR product from yesterday and BBa_I732100 from iGEM were used as template. The results showed that the PCR product from yesterday was too short and still yielded a low concentration. While the PCR reaction with BBa_I732100 as template produced a higher concentration of lacI.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>The transformation on the parts BBa_R0010 (lacP promoter) and BBa_E0840 (GFP coding seq.) from yesterday was unsuccesful so the experiment was repeated today.</p>
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-
 
+
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<p>Freezing stocks of E. coli with pSB1C3 and pSB1K3 were stored at -80°C. Each culture were mixed with 50% glycerol</p>
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-
 
+
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<p>Furthermore fast digest on our 3 PCR products were made with XbaI and SpeI.</p>
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-
 
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<p>PCR 1 and 3 were ligated and PCR 2 and 3 were ligated.</p>
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-
 
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Thursday 3/7 </h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
+
-
<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>Today the ligated PCR1/3 and PCR2/3 were purified by running them through a gel. The concentration of the purified constructs were measured by nano drop.</p>
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-
<p>In order to create "sticky ends" on PCR1/3 and PCR2/3, the parts were fast digested. Also pSB1C3 was fast digested, so that it could be used as a backbone. The different fast digested parts were gel purified. PCR1/3 and PCR2/3 were then ligated to the backbone (pSB1C3).</p>
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-
 
+
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<p>Colony PCR was performed on a colony from the  transformation from Wednesday 2/7 of the lacP promoter (BBa_R0010) and GFP coding seq. (BBa_E0840). The gel showed bands that were too long, therefore a new colony PCR was performed on a different colony. The results from the new colony PCR were the same as before, with the weight of GFP just above 1000 bp and the weight of lacP promoter just around 500 bp.</p>
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+
-
</tr>
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-
 
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Friday 4/7</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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-
<p>A miniprep was performed on the ON containing lacP promoter (BBa_R0010) and GFP coding seq. (BBa_E0840), and a freezing stock was made.</p>
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-
<p>Furthermore a PCR was made on the products from the miniprep. Unfortunatly the PCR didn't work, as the gel didn't show any products.</p>
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<p>Because the PCR didn't work we found the products from the iGEM kit from 2014 and made a new PCR.</p>
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<p>This time the  PCR worked and the products were gel purified and the concentrations meassured with NanoDrop.</p>
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</td>
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-
 
+
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Saturday 5/7</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>PCR was preformed on LVA less GFP with tet promoter using primers yellow#8 and yellow#9. The PCR was purified using the gel purification SOP.</p>
+
-
<p>A digest was done on PCR products #11 and #12 in an attempt to ligate these. Ligation was done in 30 mins at RT whereupon the ligase was inactivated at 65 °C for 10 mins. Purification of the ligation product was done, diverging from the SOP and resulting in an unusable amount of product.</p>
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-
 
+
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</td>
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-
 
+
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Sunday 6/7</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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-
 
+
-
<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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<p>The lacP promoter (BBa_R0010)and GFP coding seq. (BBa_E0840) have been ligated but the concentration was low and therefore we made PCR on the product.</p>
+
-
<p>The PCR product was run on a gel. The band was hard to separate from other bands around the same length (1400bp). We cut out the right length and purified it. Nanodrop was measured. </p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>PCR1 (consisting of template 2:2P) and PCR2 (consisting of template 2:2P) have both been fast digested with SpeI. PCR3 (consisting of template 2:24D) has been fast digested with XbaI. PCR1 and PCR3 were attempted ligated (for 30 min) and so were PCR2 and PCR3. These ligations did not show any bands around the expected length during gel purification. Two new ligations (of the same), with higher concentrations of digested PCR products, are reacting overnight.</p>
+
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+
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</td>
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-
 
+
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h4>Week 28 (7/7 - 13/7)</h4></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
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<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Monday 7/7</h5></td></tr>
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-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
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<tr>
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<td width="100%"  valign="top">
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-
<p>We realized that we have to step back in the process by inserting the different parts we want to ligate into a plasmid before ligating them to each other.</p>
+
-
<p>Therefore we started our day in the lab by doing a PCR reaction on PCR1 (consisting of template 2:2P) and PCR2 (consisting of template 2:2P). Unfortunately PCR2 didn't show the right band length when run on gel.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>PCR was also done on the lacP promoter (BBa_R0010)and GFP coding seq. (BBa_E0840). The sequences machted the lenght seen on the gel. The band from the gel was cut out and purified.</p>
+
-
<p>PCR1, PCR3 and LacP were digested.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Tuesday 8/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p> The digested products from yesterday were purified.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>Furthermore PCR on PCR 2 was repeated, this time with a gradient spanding from 53°C - 58°C. Our results were good this time.
+
-
The products were purified and their concentrations were meassured with NanoDrop.</p> 
+
-
 
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Wednesday 9/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p> Tet construct:
+
-
Plasmid pSB1C3 was concentrated before it was digested with the enzymes Xbai and SpeI. The plasmid was ligated with digested PCR1, PCR2 and PCR3.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
Lac Construct:
+
-
<li>Pcon_rbs_LacI(withoutLVA)_term, BBa_C0012, was digested with EcoRI and SpeI</li>
+
-
<li>GFP, BBa_E0840 in plasmid has beed ligated</li>
+
-
<li>LacP, BBa_R0010, was ligated with our C part in plasmid</li>
+
-
 
+
-
</p>The ligated products were transformed.</p>
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Thursday 10/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p>The transformation from yesterday was successful. Colony PCR was performed on all transformations. The result showed that part B (Bba_R0010) and C (Bba_E0840) had been ligated successfully. Unfortunately nothing could be seen on the gel with regard to PCR1, PCR2 and PCR3. Therefore a new colony PCR was performed on different colonies with PCR1, PC2 and PCR3. The gel showed no or no proper bands, so we concluded, that a religation must have happened.
+
-
Therefore we checked our enzymes by digesting pSB1C3. Here we could conclude that something must be wrong with XbaI, as it does not cut.</p>
+
-
</p> An ON was made containing BC construct.</p>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Friday 11/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p> XbaI was doublechecked and we found out, that the enzyme does not cut when using the green Fast Digest buffer.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>We puridied our PCR1 (Pcon_rbs_BBa_C0040(LVAtag_removed)_term) and PCR3 (Ptet_BBa_E0840) and digested these while using the colorless buffer.
+
-
Furthermore PCR1, PCR2 and PCR3 were amplified by a PCR reaction.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
</p>ON containing BC contruct was miniprepped and run on a gel together with C in plasmid. The length of the bands were compared and seemed appropiate.
+
-
Anyway, to be sure, a PCR was made on the BC construct. This time the gel showed too short bands, which could mean, that the C in plasmid has religated. We conclude that this must have happened because of the enzyme XbaI, that did not cut in green buffer, but was used on this construct before. Therefore C in plasmis was digested again and ligated with B.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Saturday 12/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p>Ligation of our digested product, PCR 1 (Pcon_rbs_BBa_C0040(LVAtag_removed)_term), PCR2 (Pcon_rbs_BBa_C0040_term) and PCR3 (Ptet_BBa_E0840), into a backbone, pSB1C3. Ligation of B(LacP, BBa_R0010) and C (GFP, BBa_E0840) construct into pSB1C3.</p>
+
-
<p>Transformation of PCR 1(Pcon_rbs_BBa_C0040(LVAtag_removed)_term),PCR2 (Pcon_rbs_BBa_C0040_term), PCR3 (Ptet_BBa_E0840) and BC (LacP, BBa_R0010 + GFP, BBa_E0840) into E. coli.</p>
+
-
<p>An ON containing plasmid pSB1C3 was made.</p>
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Sunday 13/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p>The ON containing pSB1C3 from yesterday was miniprepped.</p>
+
-
</td>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h4>Week 29 (14/7 - 20/7)</h4></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Monday 14/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p>ON culture containing wild type E. coli from freezing stock was made.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>The agar plates with our transformated plasmids from Saturday showed colonies with different colors.
+
-
Colony PCR was made on the colonies that seemed to have worked and were afterwards ran on gel. The bands had the right length. Furthermore single colony streaking was made on the same colonies, that were used for Colony PCR.</p>
+
-
<p>B and C in plasmid, and PCR1, PCR2, PCR3 and pSB1C3 were ligated and afterwards transformed.</p>
+
-
<p>A PCR was run on PCR1, PCR2 and B (lacI).</p>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Wednesday 16/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">  
+
<p>
<p>
-
Today we started by doing miniprep of the ON cultures from yesterday (PCR 1, PCR 2, PCR3 and B+C in plasmid). Though the concentration was not high enough to be sent in to sequencing. The samples were therefor placed in the centrifugal evaporator to increase the concentration.</p>
+
<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:320px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/50/2014SDUghana2.PNG" title="Professor George Armah (on the left) from the Noguchi memorial institute for medical research and Anne Katrine Kurtzhals (on the right) from our iGEM team.">
-
<p>A new ON culture of these strains is prepared, in case that something goes wrong</p>
+
  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/50/2014SDUghana2.PNG" style="width:320px" />
-
<p>Also the ordered parts from iGEM arrived today, and these were plated on agar plates with the appropriate antibiotics and placed in the incubator.</p>
+
Professor George Armah (on the left) from the Noguchi memorial institute for medical research and Anne Katrine Kurtzhals (on the right) from our iGEM team.
-
_MVM
+
</a>
-
</td>
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Thursday 17/7</h5></td></tr>
+
<span class="intro">Professor George Armah</span> (Prof. Armah) was head of the Electron Microscopy & Histopathology department
-
</tr>
+
at the Nuguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon. Currently Prof. Armah
 +
is the Master of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, Legon.
 +
Prof. Armah has a lot of expert knowledge about the health profile of the Ghanaians as well as the condition
 +
of life in Ghana. For this reason, Prof. Armah was an interesting scientist to interview in connection with
 +
applications of Edible coli in malnourished countries.<br><br>
-
<tr>
+
<span class="intro">Prof. Armah said that</span> he believe that the Edible coli could have potential in Ghana. The main issue would be to
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">  
+
introduce the product as a new source of nutrition. According to Prof. Armah it would be crucial to include
-
<p>The plasmids that were prepared yesterday (PCR 1, PCR 2, PCR 3 and B+C) were digested today with:</p>
+
the Edible coli in the Ghanaian gastronomy. He sees it as unlikely that people will change their way of life. Therefore, GMOs should be incorporated into food such as sweet potato, rice etc.<br><br>
-
<li>PCR 1: EcoRI + SpeI</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 2: EcoRI + SpeI</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 3: EcoRI + XbaI</li>
+
-
<li>B+C: EcoRI + XbaI</li>
+
-
<p>The products were then run on gel and gel purified. The products were dissolved in 20 µL ultra pure water. The following concentrations were obtained:</p>
+
-
<li>PCR 1: 37.3 ng/µL</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 2: 8.0 ng/µL</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 3: 15.1 ng/µL</li>
+
-
<li>B+C: 16.4 ng/µL</li>
+
-
<p>The following digested parts were then ligated:</p>
+
-
<li>PCR 1 + PCR 3</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 2 + PCR 3</li>
+
-
<li>A + (B+C)</li>
+
-
<li>A + B</li>
+
-
<p>Furthermore the plasmids with PCR 1, PCR 2, PCR 3 and B+C were prepared to be sent to Eurofins for DNA sequencing.</p>
+
<span class="intro">Prof. Armah spoke of</span> two important aspects of malnutrition in Ghana:
-
<p>As mentioned yesterday a ON-culture was prepared yesterday. The culture was attempted mini-prepped, but the mini-prep was unsuccessful. Consequently a new ON-culture was prepared today.</p>
+
<ul>
-
<p>The parts from iGEM that were plated yesterday, were today prepared for ON-culture, so that a freezing stock can be made tomorrow.</p>
+
<li>The spoilage of food was mentioned as an issue. In Ghana the access to food is not a
-
<p>- Jens Jakob
+
problem. However, malnourishment is a persistent dilemma throughout the county. Depending on the geographical location, the people eat
-
</td>
+
differently. In the southern part of Ghana, the population primarily eat fish and fufu. Fufu is a  
 +
staple food made from the cassava plant and this is rich on carbohydrates. The population in the
 +
northern part of Ghana has lots of vegetables and chicken, and therefore they do not get the
 +
recommended ratio of &omega; fatty acids.</li>
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Friday 18/7 </h5></td></tr>
+
<li>The second issue Prof. Armah spoke of was the traditional and cultural practices of Ghana. As mentioned,
-
</tr>
+
there are regional differences of food supply. Furthermore, human beings do not
 +
necessarily prioritize out of common sense but rather act in accordance with tradition and delight.</li>
 +
</ul><br>
-
<tr>
+
<span class="intro">Prof. Armah illustrated his points with</span> the two aspects by giving examples from the northern part of Ghana. Traditionally children are forbidden to eat eggs, which is a contradiction to the fact that children particularly need good nutrition to encourage their
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">  
+
-
<p>We prepared a freezing stock of the parts we had ordered and received from iGEM, and the remaining sample from the ON culture used for the freezing stocks, was miniprepped and catalogued. </p>
+
-
Some of the minipreps, were prepared with a wash buffer not containing any ethanol, and therefore we has miserable results. New ON cultures of those was prepared.</p>
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Saturday 19/7</h5></td></tr>
+
<span class="sourceReference"> growth.</span>
-
</tr>
+
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    The MAL-ED Network Investigators: The MAL-ED Study: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Approach to
 +
Understand the Relationship Between Enteric Pathogens, Malnutrition, Gut Physiology, Physical Growth,
 +
Cognitive Development, and Immune Responses in Infants and Children Up to 2 Years of Age in Resource-
 +
Poor Environments. Clin Infect Dis,2014:59(4),193-206.
 +
<a href="http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/suppl_4/S193.long#sec-28" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span>
 +
This tradition was based on a general attitude about children becoming impertinent when they were given
 +
nutrient-rich food. Another example from the northern part of Ghana was that most men would rather sell a chicken instead
 +
of eating it with the intention of buying alcohol. <br><br>
-
<tr>
+
<span class="intro">Prof. Armah refered to the problems</span> considering malnourishment as localized. Cultural and educational
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">  
+
practices where mentioned as issues in relation to the application of GMOs. According to Prof. Armah the
-
<p>The ON cultures of the iGEM parts from yesterday, were miniprepped with fine results. </p>
+
rural areas of Ghana did not take interest in synthetic biology due to the lack of education.
-
 
+
Objections to the use of synthetic biology were not linked to religion or culture according
-
<p>Colony PCR was performed on the cultures transformed with PCR1+3, PCR2+3, ABC and AB. There were no colonies on plate 5.10 (AB-part).</p>
+
to Prof. Armah. Thereby GMOs might not be rejected based on religious and social reasons, but on the fact that the population might not embrace a foreign initiative.<br><br>
-
<p>Plate streaking was performed on each colony taken for colony PCR.</p>
+
-
<p>At first sight the results from the colony PCR seems to suggest that something went wrong during the digestion or ligation, since only re-ligations seems to be present.</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Sunday 20/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
 
+
-
<p>As we were not successful in transforming the samples from th 19th of June a new batch was initiated.
+
-
That is PCR1, 2, and 3 together with B and BC was digested, ligated, and transformed.</p>
+
-
<p>In accordance with our decision to make the nutrient producing strain taste good transformations of parts; I742111 (RBS+limonene synthase), K118024 (dsx+LIMS1+appY), J23119 (constitutive promoter), and B0015 (double terminator) was commenced. These are going to constitute the construct for producing lemon taste and scent.</p>
+
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Monday 21/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
 
+
-
<p>Text</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<p>/Name</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Tuesday 22/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
 
+
-
<p>Minipreps were made on (yields were measured in nanodrop):
+
-
<li>Blue#51: J23119 (104,7 ng/μL)</li>
+
-
<li>Blue#52: I742111 (58,8 ng/μL)</li>
+
-
<li>Blue#53: K118024 (71,7 ng/μL)</li>
+
-
<li>Blue#54: Lac promoter (BBa_R0010) (40 ng/μL)</li>
+
-
<li>Blue#55: pSB1AT3 (84,9 ng/μL)</li>
+
</p>
</p>
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
 
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Wednesday 23/7</h5></td></tr>
+
<p>
-
</tr>
+
<div class="imageGallery alignCenter">
-
<tr>
 
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
 
-
<p>Today we ran colony PCR on transformations:
+
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/8/80/2014SDUghana7.PNG" title="Woman selling water in Volta region.">
-
<li>PCR 1+3</li>
+
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/9/94/2014SDUghana12.PNG"></a>
-
<li>PCR 2+3</li>
+
-
<li>A+B</li>
+
-
<li>A+BC</li>
+
-
<li>B0015 terminator</li>
+
-
</p>
+
-
<p>Also J23119 and K118024 were ligated and J23119 and I742111 were also ligated.</p>
+
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
+
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/f/f2/2014SDUghana3.PNG" title="Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology.">
 +
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/f/f8/2014SDUghana8.PNG"></a>
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Thursday 24/7</h5></td></tr>
+
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/9/9f/2014SDUghana4.PNG" title="Nuguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon.">
-
</tr>
+
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/2/20/2014SDUghana9.PNG"></a>
-
<tr>
+
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/4/41/2014SDUghana5.PNG" title="Local children at lake Bosuntwi.">
-
<td width="100%valign="top">  
+
  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/0/09/2014SDUghana10.PNG"></a>
-
<p>We recieved a delta 12 desaturase from Julius Fredens today, it is a Fat2 desaturase originating from C. elegans, we are planing on testing it and we might add it to the iGEM parts registry since it does not seem to be registered.</p>
+
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/4/48/2014SDUghana6.PNG" title="Market in Kumasi, Ghana.">
 +
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/52/2014SDUghana11.PNG"></a>
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
 
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Friday 25/7</h5></td></tr>
 
-
</tr>
 
-
<tr>
+
Pictures from Ghana.
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
<p>Over night cultures have been made for (started at 3:30 PM):
 
-
<li>PCR 1</li>
 
-
<li>PCR 2</li>
 
-
<li>PCR 3</li>
 
-
<li>B</li>
 
-
<li>C</li>
 
-
<li>BC</li>
 
-
</p>
 
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
+
</div>
-
 
+
<br><br>
-
<p> To check that we have the correct lenghts of our PCR1,2,3 and part A,B,C & BC, we ran a PCR. This did not work, so we repeated the PCR this time with a Tm on 51 degrees. The products with a length on 1000 bp and lower got 15 sec. at step 4, and the products with lengths over 1000 bp got 30 sec.
+
-
<p>/Camilla</p>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Saturday 26/7</h5></td></tr>
+
-
</tr>
+
-
 
+
-
<tr>
+
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
+
-
 
+
-
<p>Miniprep has been made of the ON cultures from 25/7 (these can be used for cloning later on):
+
-
<li>PCR 1</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 2</li>
+
-
<li>PCR 3</li>
+
-
<li>B</li>
+
-
<li>C</li>
+
-
<li>BC</li>
+
</p>
</p>
-
<p>PCR reactions of PCR 1, 2 and 3 was made from different templates, these are to be purified tomorrow.</p>
 
-
 
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
 
-
 
-
Gradient PCR was ran on part A with lac_LVAR & lac_LVA_F as primers. 2,5 uL template & 31 uL water. Tm graient at 51-70 deg. with 5 samples. PCR program: 1: 98 deg., 2 min. 2: 98 deg., 10 sec. 3: 51-70 deg., 30 sec. 4: 72 deg., 45 sec. 5: GO TO 2 rep 30. 6: 72 deg., 5 min.
 
-
After running the PCR on a gel, no clear, correct bands showed. This was due to the primers, which had a too high concentration, thus they were diluted.
 
-
<p> After the dilution, a touch down PCR was made, starting at 66 deg. going 1 deg. lower per cycle for 10 cycles, thus ending at 56 deg. A gel showed a clear band with the correct bands. In order for us to have a high enough concentration of PCR1 & PCR2 for ligation, we ran a PCR with the program: 1:98 deg., 2 min. 2: 98 deg., 10 sec. 3: 50 deg., 30 sec. 4: 72 deg., 2 sec. 5: GO TO 2 rep 30. 6: 72 deg., 5 min.
 
-
<p> after running a gel with the PCR products, bands showed with the wrong lenghts that wasn't religation. Thus we concluded that the PCR1 and PCR2 used was incorrect.
 
-
<p> Due to this, we ran a PCR on all of our PCR1,2,3 products with verification primers, to check wether they had the correct lengths, which they luckily had.
 
-
 
-
<p>/Anne, Sarah & Camilla</p>
 
-
 
-
<tr><td colspan="3"> <h5>Sunday 27/7</h5></td></tr>
 
-
</tr>
 
-
 
-
<tr>
 
-
<td width="100%"  valign="top">
 
-
 
-
<p>PCR products made yesterday has been purified, this was PCR 1, 2 and 3 from different templates.
 
-
</p>
 
-
 
-
<p>/Daniel</p>
 
-
 
-
 
-
 
-
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Latest revision as of 03:00, 18 October 2014

An expert opinion


Outreach in Ghana

Facts about Ghana

Geographic location: Coastal country of West Africa
Population: 25,366,000 Source: World Health Organization, 2014: WHO African region: Ghana. (Link)
Population under 15 years: 38.59 % Source: World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana. (Link)
Nutritional status of children: 28% are stunted, 9% wasted and 14% underweight. Source: World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana. (Link)
Diet: Starchy roots, fruit and edible grains. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana. (Link)
Coverage needs (micronutrients and vitamins): Primarily iodine and vitamin A. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana. (Link)
Causes of mortality: Bad access to health services, safe water and sanitation. High incidence of Malaria. Malnutrition. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana. (Link)
When generating nutrition made of bacteria our team pointed it's contribution to the considerable task of providing accurate nutrient to developing countries. The contradiction between a common opinion of how food is produced and finding a solution to obtaining food in the future has been a key issue to our project. Furthermore, the ethical and social aspects to our project are decisive to include.

This means that we have considered what good research is. Good research includes the common opinion in society, and for this reason outreach in Ghana provided us with different standpoints to our project.

Interview with Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei:

Dr. Yaa Difie-Osie from the National Biosafety Committee, Ghana. Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei (Dr. Yaa), agreed to meet with our team member Anne, during her stay in the capital of Ghana, Accra, in August. The purpose was to talk about GMOs in relation to our Edible coli. The interview was held at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Ghana in Legon. Dr. Yaa has previously worked at the university herself but is now retired from her position as lecturer. Dr. Yaa is still involved in the development of synthetic biology in Ghana as a member of the National Biosafety Committee of Ghana. The fact that Dr. Yaa has much experience regarding synthetic biology and at the same time is a member of the National Biosafety Committee makes her expertise significant to our project.

When Dr. Yaa heard about our iGEM project she expressed great interest and there was a clear understanding and acknowledgement of the concepts of iGEM. Dr. Yaa spoke very passionately of GMOs and made it clear that GMOs would be a considerable solution to malnutrition, which is a recurring motif in Ghana. As a member of the Safety Committee, Dr. Yaa had recently contributed to the approval of four GMO projects in Ghana. The four GMO projects include protein rich sweet potato and cotton with pesticides integrated into the genom (BT-cotton). The projects have got permits to do research but the research will be subject to strict rules concerning biosafety, management of risks in biochemistry and national biosafety. Source: A.A. Adenle et al.: Status of development, regulation and adoption of GM agriculture in Africa: Views and positions of stakeholder groups. Food Policy. 2013:43,159-166. (Link)

Dr. Yaa spoke of GMO as an important step forward. The positive effects of GMOs related to farmers and the general population of Ghana were among others the following:

Farmers:

  • Reduction of chemicals in farming
  • Improvement of health
  • Saving time for the farmers
  • Saving tractor fuel, in relation to Green House Gasses.

General population:
  • Nutritional balance
  • Prevention of children suffering from malnutrition
  • Improvement of health
  • Reduction of intolerance. As an example lactose intolerance was given, where GMO could be accommodated by producing milk containing lactase, which is an enzyme one lacks when lactose intolerant Source: Swallow, D.M.: Genetics of Lactase Persistence and Lactoseintolerance. Annu.Rev.Genet,2003.37:197-219. (Link)

There is much focus on the fact that child mortality has decreased due to improvement in child health. Source: Child Mortality Estimates, 2014: Under-five mortality rate (Link) Meanwhile the nutritional status of children in Ghana still remains a challenge. Source: World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance. (Link) By introducing GMOs this issue could potentially be reduced. However, the ethical aspects of introducing GMOs as relief-aid for hunger or malnutrition must be subject to consideration, according to Dr. Yaa. Personally, Dr. Yaa did not think of GMO as unethical if the purpose was relief of hunger or malnutrition. However, it would be necessary to educate the population so that they would have a foundation for decisions regarding the use of GMOs as a nutrition source. Dr. Yaa mentioned the importance of considering indications producing genetically modified organism. The hypothetical GMO should have relevance in a way that promises improvement of lifestyle or brings good quality to something. Furthermore, it would be necessary to demonstrate the safety of the GMO. This would include risk assessments such as inspection of the organism when separated from its natural surroundings. It would additionally be crucial that the commercial releases were informative so that the consumers would receive the essential information.

According to Dr Yaa the objections to GMOs seen from a religious point of view could be a problem in the beginning but it would not persist. Consequently, development of GMOs would entail that the genes, which were used to modify the organisms, should be picked with concern. For instance, genes from a pig would cause a revolt coming from the religious community.

Interview with Prof. George Armah

Professor George Armah (on the left) from the Noguchi memorial institute for medical research and Anne Katrine Kurtzhals (on the right) from our iGEM team. Professor George Armah (Prof. Armah) was head of the Electron Microscopy & Histopathology department at the Nuguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon. Currently Prof. Armah is the Master of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, Legon. Prof. Armah has a lot of expert knowledge about the health profile of the Ghanaians as well as the condition of life in Ghana. For this reason, Prof. Armah was an interesting scientist to interview in connection with applications of Edible coli in malnourished countries.

Prof. Armah said that he believe that the Edible coli could have potential in Ghana. The main issue would be to introduce the product as a new source of nutrition. According to Prof. Armah it would be crucial to include the Edible coli in the Ghanaian gastronomy. He sees it as unlikely that people will change their way of life. Therefore, GMOs should be incorporated into food such as sweet potato, rice etc.

Prof. Armah spoke of two important aspects of malnutrition in Ghana:

  • The spoilage of food was mentioned as an issue. In Ghana the access to food is not a problem. However, malnourishment is a persistent dilemma throughout the county. Depending on the geographical location, the people eat differently. In the southern part of Ghana, the population primarily eat fish and fufu. Fufu is a staple food made from the cassava plant and this is rich on carbohydrates. The population in the northern part of Ghana has lots of vegetables and chicken, and therefore they do not get the recommended ratio of ω fatty acids.
  • The second issue Prof. Armah spoke of was the traditional and cultural practices of Ghana. As mentioned, there are regional differences of food supply. Furthermore, human beings do not necessarily prioritize out of common sense but rather act in accordance with tradition and delight.

Prof. Armah illustrated his points with the two aspects by giving examples from the northern part of Ghana. Traditionally children are forbidden to eat eggs, which is a contradiction to the fact that children particularly need good nutrition to encourage their growth. Source: The MAL-ED Network Investigators: The MAL-ED Study: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Approach to Understand the Relationship Between Enteric Pathogens, Malnutrition, Gut Physiology, Physical Growth, Cognitive Development, and Immune Responses in Infants and Children Up to 2 Years of Age in Resource- Poor Environments. Clin Infect Dis,2014:59(4),193-206. (Link) This tradition was based on a general attitude about children becoming impertinent when they were given nutrient-rich food. Another example from the northern part of Ghana was that most men would rather sell a chicken instead of eating it with the intention of buying alcohol.

Prof. Armah refered to the problems considering malnourishment as localized. Cultural and educational practices where mentioned as issues in relation to the application of GMOs. According to Prof. Armah the rural areas of Ghana did not take interest in synthetic biology due to the lack of education. Objections to the use of synthetic biology were not linked to religion or culture according to Prof. Armah. Thereby GMOs might not be rejected based on religious and social reasons, but on the fact that the population might not embrace a foreign initiative.

Pictures from Ghana.