Team:BostonU

The scope of synthetic biology is limitless, but there are challenges within the field that slow progress. One of these major aspects is the ability to accurately predict the function of genetic circuits. The ideal goal is to have basic parts available with their functions well characterized which then can be combined to create genetic circuits with complex behavior.

This year, the BU iGEM team aims to introduce not only a standardized method for the characterization of genetic circuits in synthetic biology but also a new method for cloning in iGEM called MoClo (Weber et al, 2011). In order to achieve this goal we are working on converting various BioBrick parts into MoClo parts, which we will make available for future iGEM teams to use. We are focusing on building a vast number of both simple and complex genetic circuits manually and automatically with a liquid handling robot using the principles of MoClo, and then characterizing these circuits using various methodologies, including flow cytometry.

A further goal for us is to create a standardized data sheet to be included in the parts registry for each part submitted and characterized, thus allowing anyone who would like to use the parts to have a comprehensive understanding of the behaviors of the parts.

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