The Interlab Study

Introduction

I read the interlab study as an attempt by iGEM HQ to conduct a comparative analysis of the different methods employed by the varied and diverse teams internationally to arrive at useful data. A key problem in science is ascertaining absolute measurements; there is no point in one measuring the fluorescence of some given part, only to arrive at arbitrary units whose value for other scientists is near zero. Standards must be set, in order to embue our results with any useful meaning. Although its motivations are shrouded in mystery, I percieve the interlab study as the first step towards that ultimate goal of blanket standardisation in a synthetic biological context.

It is suggested that a team conduct the interlab study as a preamble to the main event. However, we are the first example of an iGEM team at Warwick, and coalesced rather late in the day. Hence we decided just to dedicate two members of the team to pursuing it in parallel to our other endeavours, as a sort of side quest.

The Brief

The remit of the interlab study boils down to constructing and characterising, albeit minimally, three devices. They share a lot of similarities, and the objective is obviously not to create some wacky new form of life, but to measure well characterised and well understood parts in order to measure the measuring equipment, as it were. I will quickly describe the nature of these devices.

Device 1: BBa_I20260

This device is fully composed and readily available in Kit Plate 4 of the 2014 distribution. The parts in this kit plate are contained within non-standard plasmids, as opposed to the classic pSB1C3 in which parts must be delivered to iGEM HQ. In this case, pSB3K3. There is a logic to the plasmid nomenclature ; here the capital K denotes the plasmid's antibiotic resistance to kanamycin. This is the low hanging fruit! As you can see below, it is composed of a promoter, a ribosome binding site (or RBS), a GFP gene and two terminators, one each for ending transcription and translation (INSERT APPROPRIATE PICTURE).

Device 2: BBa_J23101 + BBa_E0240