NB: unless differently specified, all tests were performed in E. coli MGZ1 in M9 supplemented medium at 37°C. For the cloning of the parts, E. coli TOP10 was used.

Parts assembly

All the parts have been cloned with success. The part name, plasmids and quality controls are reported in the Freezer section.

Characterization of basic modules

Characterization of promoters pTet and pLux

Inducible and constitutive promoters were assembled upstream of different coding sequences containing an RBS from the Community collection.

The assembled RBSs are:

The estimated parameters for the Hill functions of pLux are summarized in the table below. For more details on parameter estimation, see the model section.

RBS	αpLux [(AUr/min)/cell]	δpLux [-]	ηpLux [-]	kpLux [ng/ml]
BBa_B0030	438 [10]	0.05 [>100]	2 [47]	1.88 [27]
BBa_B0031	9.8 [7]	0.11 [57]	1.2 [29]	1.5 [26]
BBa_B0032	206 [3]	0 [>>100]	1.36 [10]	1.87 [9]
BBa_B0034	1105 [6]	0.02 [>100]	1.33 [19]	2.34 [18]

RBS	RPUmax	RPUmin	Switch point [nM]	Linear boundaries [MIN; MAX] [nM]
B0030	4.28	0.20	1.08	[0.36; 3.27]
B0031	4.93	0.55	0.25	[0.03; 2.30]
B0032	9.49	0.02	0.47	[0.07; 3.07]
B0034	21.53	0.51	0.53	[0.08; 3.77]

The protocols for the characterization of p_Tet promoter are reported in the p_Tet measurement section.

Here we have characterized its transcriptional strength as a function of aTc induction (ng/ul) for different RBSs. Three different induction curves were obtained and are reported in figure:

The estimated parameters of the Hill curves described in the figures are summarized in the table below:

RBS	αpTet [(AUr/min)/cell]	δpTet [-]	ηpTet [-]	kpTet [nM]
BBa_B0030	230.67 [3.7]	0.028 [91.61]	4.61 [23.73]	8.75 [4.16]
BBa_B0031	ND	ND	ND	ND
BBa_B0032	55.77 [12]	1.53E-11 [>>100]	4.98 [57.62]	7.26 [14.98]
BBa_B0034	120 [5.95]	0.085 [40.6]	24.85 [47.6]	9 [5.43]

Data are provided as average [CV%]

The operative parameters are summarized in the table below:

RBS	RPUmax	RPUmin	Switch point [ng/ml]	Linear boundaries [MIN; MAX] [ng/ml]
B0030	1.53	~0	7.95	[4.66;11.99]
B0031	ND	ND	ND	ND
B0032	3.16	~0	6.7	[4.45;10.05]
B0034	2.73	0.23	8.96	[8.27;9.71]

Characterization of enzymes AiiA and LuxI

LuxI has been characterized through the Biosensor BBa_T9002 (see modelling section) using the p_Tet-RBSx-LuxI-TT measurement systems.
The parameters V_max, k_M,LuxI and α_RBSx were estimated with a simultaneous fitting of the data collected as described in measurement section for the four measurement parts p_Tet-RBSx-LuxI-TT assayed by BBa_T9002 biosensor section.

The provided parameters k_M and V_max represent the enzymatic activity of LuxI, described by our model. They must not be confused with the operative parameters of the Michaelis-Menten relation. These synthetic parameters have a great importance, since they can be used in more complicated models in order to predict the behavior of complex circuits.

The AiiA enzyme activity has been characterized under the regulation of p_tet promoter, assaying its enzymatic activity.

The parameters k_cat, k_M,AiiA and α_RBSx would have been estimated with a simultaneous fitting of the data collected as described in measurement section for the four measurement parts p_Tet-RBSx-AiiA-TT assayed by BBa_T9002 biosensor section. Unfortunately, their estimation revealed difficult.
In the first experiments with the measurement system p_Tet-RBSx-AiiA-TT in LOW-COPY at pH=7 no degradation of HSL was observed. The collected data are shown in the figure below. HSL degradation is identical in the measurement system and in the negative control after 21 hours.