Team:UNIST Korea/project/future work

From 2011.igem.org

Future work & Application

As a future work of UNIST 2011 iGEM team, there will be additional circuits in our whole construct which will contain productive options for other applications.

On the top of this, UNIST team is going to introduce more controlled system into our genetically modified E.coli so that it can be more safety and easy to be handled in the laboratory.
Thus, one more light receptor, PhyB-PIF3 from Arabidopsis, which will play a key role for the control of gene expression will take a part in our future construct, which means even if light is present for a short time our system would not be willing to work fine if the light kept being present.

Secondly, our team also will give a circuit containing quorum sensing system to engineered organism. However, the quorum sensing system which we are going to introduce to E.coli is somewhat different from that of original one that E.coli has already. In case of original quorum sensing of E.coli in the nature, they produce the molecules, AI2s which are referred to auto inducer molecules which will directly go through the membrane, make the complexes with other binding proteins in cytoplasm, and eventually will affect the certain gene on the chromosomal DNA so that it can induce the expression as for positive feedback loop. Unlike the original quorum sensing system, UNIST team is going to make that engineered E.coli can only recognize the signals from different quorum sensing molecules, AHLs which come especially from different species. Therefore, this system will also be the benefit to the effective control way of gene expressions.

Thirdly, We have been trying to concentrate on more accurate control of gene expressions and effective decrease of leaky levels in our circuits by designing the temperature-dependent mRNA secondary structure, but since it might not be working well completely for now probably this is expected to be accomplished with more clear experimental data, which will play a key role in the future construct.

Fourthly, We also have been focusing on making good lysis module introduced in our E.coli using either Holin system or Dpn system. Unfortunately, the result was not that clear as much as we expected. Thus, for the greater progress, UNIST iGEM team is determined to work on the experiment much about lysis system in the future.

Lastly, additional productive circuit may join to the whole construct in the long future in order that E.coli can produce something genuinely valuable to the other things for applications because they may not be much worthy if they have nothing to produce anything although lots of controlled systems exist in the whole construct. For instance, as the additional productive systems for real applications, there might be systems containing the genes which are going to be much beneficial to the environment, or human health & well being, etc.