Team:Yale/Notebook
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Revision as of 23:46, 16 October 2014
Lab Notebook |
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Outline of Our Project
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TroubleShooting (T7)Okay, so we’re currently having some issues with the transformations, so let’s take a step back and look at what can go wrong, and how we can fix them: Template generation: For T7 RNA pol+pZE21 with the cr/ta system, the hairpins on the primers limit the efficacy of PCR and Gibson assembly.
Solutions: First, we should screen the plasmids we have to check and see if they do in fact contain T7. Ariel has designed primers for the test already, and if necessary we can use the pZE21 with CAT as a control, since the band would be a significantly shorter length.
We can also try a different method of assembly: restriction enzyme digest (may be difficult because there are none that anneal EXACTLY to the spots we want, some are a few base pairs off), or deactivating CAT’s start codon and placing T7 a little ways downstream of the crRNA sequence, INSIDE CAT (which, without the start codon, would not be translated).
Transformation: We need to drop dialyze longer. Our bacteria doesn’t seem to like the high salt concentration. Do duplicate plates.
Quality control on plates: be sure to streak a non-transformed plate every time to make sure the antibiotic is working.
Transform into a hardier strain/one better suited for transformations?
Construct Idea: DOPA + Spider silk
Here’s an idea: what if we attach spider silk in between two mussel foot proteins, and then coat a surface with it? (Stephanie’s idea)1. Spider silk has been shown to be antimicrobial 2. Spider silk is strong and resistant to degradation. 3. Spider silk is a structural polymer and does not require terminal specificity. 4. Spider silk has been produced with a conjugated protein before by a former iGEM team. 5. Spider silk loses its stickiness over time, and its antimicrobial effects are decreased when exposed to water…DOPA can helpSpider silk is in the iGEM registry, and sequences can also be found here. The idea then is to generate spider-silk DOPA peptides that, in coating a surface, creates a mesh on which biofilms cannot form. This may be a good alternative in looking at medical applications, since spider silk is NOT toxic in mammals.
MGFP Purification Protocol
Source: http://aem.asm.org/content/70/6/3352.full.pdf (2007)
2. Same guys as above, now with recombinant fp-151:
Antifouling Notes
So there’s different environments to consider with this project: (the proper term for the issue we’re dealing with is “biofouling”)
Common perpetrators of this foul crime are thiobacilli, pseudomonas, etc. Our best bet is probably some strain of pseudomonas (I can ask Ben for samples) Factors to consider while choosing antimicrobial factors:
A texture antimicrobial factor may be preferable because it is more general and hopefully less toxic if detached from a large surface. WELL BOY HOWDY LOOK AT THIS HERE PAPER IT’S ALMOST AS IF IT’S TRYING TO SOLVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. Biomimetic polymers we can look into: cicada wings (other insects also have similar properties), lotus leaves, shark skins, gecko feets (wow these are all cool things! any one of these can be a mascot!) Here’s a review of hydrophobic surfaces--it looks like our struggle is less about protein function and more about overall structure, which we may be able to space apart with specific designs of the protein foot. These people have a more complicated idea, coating a surface with DOPA and then making the proteins mimic the organization of a lotus leaf. The physics of fluidity may help. Current findings: this polypeptide-mimic compound that uses PMP1 (huh!) Unfortunately this looks like it needs post-translational modification.
General characteristics of antifouling consensus sequences: electrically neutral, hydrophilic, electron accepting but not electron donating. http://davidcwhite.org/fulltext/455.pdf Collection of links on antifouling: http://www.bimat.org/assets/pdf/nu_05_8dalsin.pdf http://www.che.ncsu.edu/genzergroup/pubs/pub-06-11.pdf http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja303037j http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/web/2012/06/Lotus-Leaves-Mussels-Inspire-Method.htmlConstruct Idea: DOPA + Spider silk
Here’s an idea: what if we attach spider silk in between two mussel foot proteins, and then coat a surface with it? (Stephanie’s idea)1. Spider silk has been shown to be antimicrobial 2. Spider silk is strong and resistant to degradation. 3. Spider silk is a structural polymer and does not require terminal specificity. 4. Spider silk has been produced with a conjugated protein before by a former iGEM team. 5. Spider silk loses its stickiness over time, and its antimicrobial effects are decreased when exposed to water…DOPA can helpSpider silk is in the iGEM registry, and sequences can also be found here. The idea then is to generate spider-silk DOPA peptides that, in coating a surface, creates a mesh on which biofilms cannot form. This may be a good alternative in looking at medical applications, since spider silk is NOT toxic in mammals.
Construct Idea: DOPA + Spider silk
Here’s an idea: what if we attach spider silk in between two mussel foot proteins, and then coat a surface with it? (Stephanie’s idea)1. Spider silk has been shown to be antimicrobial 2. Spider silk is strong and resistant to degradation. 3. Spider silk is a structural polymer and does not require terminal specificity. 4. Spider silk has been produced with a conjugated protein before by a former iGEM team. 5. Spider silk loses its stickiness over time, and its antimicrobial effects are decreased when exposed to water…DOPA can helpSpider silk is in the iGEM registry, and sequences can also be found here. The idea then is to generate spider-silk DOPA peptides that, in coating a surface, creates a mesh on which biofilms cannot form. This may be a good alternative in looking at medical applications, since spider silk is NOT toxic in mammals.
Construct Idea: DOPA + Spider silk
Here’s an idea: what if we attach spider silk in between two mussel foot proteins, and then coat a surface with it? (Stephanie’s idea)1. Spider silk has been shown to be antimicrobial 2. Spider silk is strong and resistant to degradation. 3. Spider silk is a structural polymer and does not require terminal specificity. 4. Spider silk has been produced with a conjugated protein before by a former iGEM team. 5. Spider silk loses its stickiness over time, and its antimicrobial effects are decreased when exposed to water…DOPA can helpSpider silk is in the iGEM registry, and sequences can also be found here. The idea then is to generate spider-silk DOPA peptides that, in coating a surface, creates a mesh on which biofilms cannot form. This may be a good alternative in looking at medical applications, since spider silk is NOT toxic in mammals.
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