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Revision as of 08:08, 17 October 2014

Nevada iGEM 2014

Team Nevada

The BAITswitch

The Bioorthoginal Auxin Induceable Trigger Switch

Overview

This summer, the iGEM team of Nevada came up with a new strategy for rapid response protein degradation in yeast cells through our Bioorthoginal Auxin Inducible Trigger Switch (or BAITSwitch). With usual protein degradation being a very slow process which can take several hours, or even days. And the perfect system being similar to that of a light switch; where a response is seen immediately after a trigger is toggled. This year we attempted to select a specifically labeled protein for immediate degradation via the Bioorthoginal auxin-inducible-degron (AID) System (AUTHOR GOES HERE). This Auxinsystem has been published and used by previous iGEM teams, but has never been combined with its parallel system, jasmonic acid, in non-plant cells. However, before we could start our journey we needed to understand some very unique characteristics about Protein Degradation.

How a Lightbulb Works

An easy way to explain our system is to imagine a light switch: a source of instantaneous change. A room can go from dark to light instantly by flipping the switch. Similarly, a protein can go from existing and causing havoc to being destroyed by “flipping the switch”, or adding auxin. Our research causes this change as fast as biologically possible

Understanding the Perfect Model

As seen in the graph to the right, a lightswitch is the perfect model from the fact that there is an imediate response (creation of light) after a trigger is activated (ie. flicking on the light switch). With 0 being representation of no light in a room and 1 being the room filled with light over the time span of a couple seconds.

Turning on a Light

Typical Protein Degredation Rates

One of the first things that we needed to understand was how long it usually takes a protein to degrade. As seen in the graph on the left from Junbo Liu and R. Sakari Piha, regular protein degradation can take from hours to months to eliminate the protein entirely. Hover over the graph or select the individual proteins to see their individual degradation times.

How Protein Degradation Works

After understanding that a protein's life can be fairly lengthy, we needed to learn how proteins are biologically broken down.

Ubiquitination

There are three types of enzymes involved in ubiquitination which make up the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) called E1, E2, and E3. Together these three enzymes create a "three-step enzymatic cascade, resulting in the covalent transfer of ubiquitin to target proteins" (D. Kelly).


In the UPS, each enzyme serves a specific function to target the substrate protein for destruction by the 26S proteasome or alters their biochemical properties and subcellular organization in plants. Here, E1 serves as the ubiquitin activating enzyme while containing two isoforms. E2 serves as the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and is believed to have at least 40 different derivatives. Then, E3 serving as the ubiquitin ligase which is predicted to encode for more than a thousand potential E3 ligases. (Nitzan Shabek)


Although, most reasearch shows this system being used in several different species of plant, it also serves the same role in eukaryotic cells as well. (Nitzan Shabek)

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The BAITSwitch

The Bait-Switch is composed of two plant hormone-based degron systems that work in a bioorthogonal fashion, meaning that they work independently of each other, thus eliminating the chance of adverse biological cross-talk. These two systems are analogous in component functions, and they both result in rapid and specific protein degradation. Current methods of post-translational degradation, such as RNAi, are nonspecific and can have adverse effects from off-target effects. However, previous research shows that the components of the bait-switch can be transferred from plants to yeast and other vertebrate cells. Although mammalian cells do not contain the receptors to recognize these plant hormones, they contain the same SCF degradation pathway, and this can be exploited to achieve targeted, rapid protein degradation.

Breakdown of the Auxin-Induciable-Degron (AID) system

Shown below is a breakdown of the BAITswitch and how it is used to degrade proteins of interest.The individual components are shown below.

Our Team

Only through the joint effors of all of these students and our wonderful advisor, Team Nevada was able to achieve all of their summer and semester goals.

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Khurram Fahim

A Dual Major in Biochemistry and Neuroscience

Khurram Fahim is a senior biochemistry and neuroscience major at the University of Nevada, Reno. His future plans include attending medical school and continue pursuing research opportunities. Khurram is working with the auxin pathway, involving the TIR1 E3 ligase and IAA degron tag. He is cloning this plant hormone regulation system into yeast cells with an overall goal for specific protein degradation. His other interests include playing volleyball, snowboarding, staying fit, and being involved in university organizations.

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Janice Bautista

A Dual Major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Immunnology

Janice Bautista was born in the Philippines and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when she was 8. She currently in her fourth year of college at the University of Nevada, Reno majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Immunnology. She hopes to work for a biotech or pharmaceutical company upon graduating in May 2015. She loves research and is extremely excited to see all the research being done by all the iGEM teams around the world!

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Matthew Hawn

A Biochemistry Major

Matt Hawn is a Biochemistry Major and is in his fourth year at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is currently interested in attending medical school or working toward his PhD in Biochemistry. On the side, Matt has worked for several companies in website development. His enjoyment of web development has lead him to an interest in photoshop, cinematography, and marketing.

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Josh Beard

Biochemistry Major

Josh Beard is a biochemistry major from Las Vegas, Nevada. After graduating from UNR, he plans to attend graduate school in hopes of landing a career in research. Josh's main focus on this years iGEM project was to design the Auxin Inducible Degron plasmid that would ultimately be transformed into yeast. His interests include playing the guitar and cello!

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Tori Speicher

biochemistry Major

Tori Speicher was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She is a second year Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Major at the University of Nevada, Reno. As the youngest member of the Nevada iGEM team Tori has learned a lot from her hands-on experience. Through iGEM, she has discovered her love for research and hopes to continue her education towards a PhD in biochemistry. In her free time, Tori is highly involved in performing arts; she is currently the head coach at a local high school. She loves sharing her passion for music, dance, and performance with the local youth.

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Zoe Meraz

Biochemistry Major

As a first-generation college student, Zoe did not grow up talking about college but she knew she wanted to pursue science and that pursuit led her to the bounties of biochemistry. It has allowed her to view the world we live in with great detail and admiration and her curiosities push her to experiment and grow every day. Although born in California, moving to Reno and attending UNR has molded Zoe's idea of home into mountains of sage and rabbit brush and a growing sense of community. Her hobbies include gardening, reading, various art forms, and secret plans of becoming a vigilante. She hopes to further her studies through MD/PhD to become a coroner.

Nevada's Contribution to the Parts Registry

Each part seen below is a part that Team Nevada contributed to the iGEM Parts Registry, along with a full description of what was added/modified. These parts were then used in various experiments to create the BAITswitch.

Jaz1 is a degron tag utilized in the coronatine pathway. The protein of interest is tagged with Jaz1; when coronatine is added to the system, the protein and its tag are linked to the E3 ubiquitin ligase, COI1. Click the picture or the name below to be taken to the parts registry page.

RFP-Jaz1 is a degron tag utilized in the coronatine pathway. The protein of interest is tagged with RFP-Jaz1; when coronatine is added to the system, the protein and its tag are linked to the E3 ubiquitin ligase, COI1. Click the picture or the name below to be taken to the parts registry page.

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Jaz6 is a degron tag utilized in the coronatine pathway. The protein of interest is tagged with Jaz6; when coronatine is added to the system, the protein and its tag are linked to the E3 ubiquitin ligase, COI1. Click the picture or the name below to be taken to the parts registry page.

COI-1 or Coronatine Insensitive-1 recruits JAZ-1 or JAZ-6 tagged substrates in the presence of Coronatine for degradation by the Proteasome.

Our Project

Below is a breakdown of the four major components of our research involving the BAITswitch. The project started with an understanding of previous research and was then broken down into our two systems, the Auxin and Coronatine system. We then move on to discuss our results and our future plans for the BAITswitch.

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Previous Research and Begining our Project

In this section you can see summaries of the research papers that Team Nevada read to help create the BAITswitch. Additionally, you can see the begining of our research, involving the affects of Auxin and Coronatine on Yeast Cells.

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The Auxin System

The breakdown of how Team Nevada genetically designed and engineered the Auxin Degreadtion system in the BAITswitch.

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The Coronatine System

The breakdown of how Team Nevada genetically designed and engineered the Coronatine Degreadtion system in the BAITswitch.

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Results and Future Application

In this final section you can see the final results of combining the Auxin and Coronatine System to form the BAITswitch. Furthermore, you can see the future plans that Team Nevada has for the BAITswitch, along with its real world application.

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Subscribe

Stay updated on everything happening with Team Nevada as they journey toward the iGEM Jamboree .

Our Sponsors

Here is a list of all of the people who have helped make Team Nevada's iGEM expierence possible.