<li>Construct a novel mechanism using the BioBrick model that promotes the movement of E. coli on the medium following the concentration gradient of a contaminant as xylene. </li>

             The ability of expressing extracellular pili-like appendages called nanowires that enable electron transportation (cellular respiration) in adverse (electron acceptor deficient) conditions, is a shared characteristic among several microorganisms. Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 is capable of producing such nanowires when grown in low concentrations of O2 and metal ions. The genes mshA, pilA, and gspG have been targeted as the main nanowire coding genes, while omcA, mtrC, and gspD confer conductivity to the nanowires as they code for the cytochromes needed for electron transport. This project intends to transfer these mechanisms into a more convenient model organism, Escherichia coli to create a synthetic strain capable of expressing electrically conductive nanowires. Preliminary experiments suggest that E. coli HB101 does not present nanowires, so it is a suitable organism for recombination.

             Our goal is to create a recombinant E. coli strain, taking as a model E. coli HB101 and Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, capable of generating a difference of potential is the main objective of this project. In other words, we intend to integrate the electron conductivity mechanisms of S. oneidensis into E. coli.