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Team:Calgary/Notebook/Parts
From 2014.igem.org
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| - | <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/0/05/UCalgary2014_ComK_plasmid.png"> | + | <h2><i>comK</i></h2> |
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| + | <p><i>Bacillus subtilis</i> is a gram-positive bacterial species capable of natural transformation. Under conditions of nutrient deprivation (energy starvation), <i>B. subtilis</i> can be made to uptake foreign DNA. However, transformation through starvation (i.e. growth in minimal media) may not be the most ideal process to implement in the lab, as outcomes can be uncontrollable, time-consuming, and labour-intensive. Fortunately, we can bypass the need for energy starvation by using cells derived from a specific strain of <i>B. subtilis</i> (SCK6) with the pAX01-comK plasmid constructed by Zhang & Zhang (2010).</p> | ||
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| + | <p>The key feature conferred by this plasmid is the overexpression of <i>comK</i>, which is the master regulator of competence in <i>B. subtilis</i>. It is known as such because it encodes a transcription factor which upregulates the expression of these competence genes <i>(comC, comE, comF, comG, nucA)</i>. All these genes contribute to the DNA uptake mechanism in <i>B. subtilis</i>.</p> | ||
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| + | <p>In this “supercompetent” plasmid, the overexpression of these genes is enabled by the master regulator <i>comK</i>, the control of which is placed under the xylose-inducible promoter <i>P<sub>xylA</sub></i>. This means that if we add xylose to the cells, they will activate <i>P<sub>xylA</sub></i> and subsequently <i>comK</i>, resulting in the “turning on” of competence genes. The cells can then uptake foreign DNA without the need for energy starvation. The figure below depicts the pAX01-comK plasmid (Zhang & Zhang, 2010).</p> | ||
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| + | <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/0/05/UCalgary2014_ComK_plasmid.png" height="400" width="450" align="left"><b>Figure 1. pAX01-comK vector map (Zhang & Zhang, 2010).</b> Constructed plasmid for <i>B. subtilis</i> wherein the master regulator <i>comK</i> competence gene is placed under the control of <i>P<sub>xylA</sub></i>, a xylose-inducible promoter. | ||
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| + | <p>The part submitted by iGEM Calgary to allow future teams to take advantage of this xylose-inducible system includes the <i>P<sub>xylA</sub></i>, RBS, and <i>comK</i> gene. We have taken the functional units of Zhang & Zhang's constructed plasmid and placed it between the standard BioBrick prefix and suffix.</p> | ||
</p> | </p> | ||
Revision as of 17:19, 16 October 2014
Parts
comK
Bacillus subtilis is a gram-positive bacterial species capable of natural transformation. Under conditions of nutrient deprivation (energy starvation), B. subtilis can be made to uptake foreign DNA. However, transformation through starvation (i.e. growth in minimal media) may not be the most ideal process to implement in the lab, as outcomes can be uncontrollable, time-consuming, and labour-intensive. Fortunately, we can bypass the need for energy starvation by using cells derived from a specific strain of B. subtilis (SCK6) with the pAX01-comK plasmid constructed by Zhang & Zhang (2010).
The key feature conferred by this plasmid is the overexpression of comK, which is the master regulator of competence in B. subtilis. It is known as such because it encodes a transcription factor which upregulates the expression of these competence genes (comC, comE, comF, comG, nucA). All these genes contribute to the DNA uptake mechanism in B. subtilis.
In this “supercompetent” plasmid, the overexpression of these genes is enabled by the master regulator comK, the control of which is placed under the xylose-inducible promoter PxylA. This means that if we add xylose to the cells, they will activate PxylA and subsequently comK, resulting in the “turning on” of competence genes. The cells can then uptake foreign DNA without the need for energy starvation. The figure below depicts the pAX01-comK plasmid (Zhang & Zhang, 2010).
Figure 1. pAX01-comK vector map (Zhang & Zhang, 2010). Constructed plasmid for B. subtilis wherein the master regulator comK competence gene is placed under the control of PxylA, a xylose-inducible promoter.
The part submitted by iGEM Calgary to allow future teams to take advantage of this xylose-inducible system includes the PxylA, RBS, and comK gene. We have taken the functional units of Zhang & Zhang's constructed plasmid and placed it between the standard BioBrick prefix and suffix.
