Open Plasmid

The Open Plasmid is a key tool for the community biolab. Genspace has partnered with Cathal Garvey, founder of Indie Biotech, to design an open source and IP-free plasmid for the community biolab. The Open Plasmid is a core platform on which many experiments in a community biolab can be built on, essentially the equivalent of an Arduino for the citizen science community. The plasmid is designed to be easily modifiable, and therefore approachable to everyone from weekend researcher to curious high school student. The plasmid is also designed to be easy to cultivate with minimal resources. Unlike most plasmids, it does not need to be grown with antibiotics, significantly increasing accessibility to budget-constrained organizations, and having less negative environmental impact.

As a first step, we have cloned the IP-free fluorescent protein genes. These are meant to be used together with the Open Plasmid. Each gene codes for a differently fluorescent protein: cyan, green, and red. These sequences can be used as teaching tools for classes or workshops or as molecular tools by independent researchers who are part of the community.