Team:Copenhagen/Project

Project

Conventional single celled model organisms, such as E.coli, are widely used in synthetic biology as reliable and well-characterized systems. However a carbon rich medium has to be supplied which is expensive in both economic and environmental terms. Using cyanobacteria capable of performing photosynthesis and removing waste CO2 bypasses this problem and has the potential to be an important organism for future biotechnological research. We wish to genetically engineer cyanobacteria to produce biologically generated light, so-called bioluminescence. This not only has direct implications for development of sustainable and economic light sources, but also as a general proof-of-principle of the suitability of cyanobacteria for biotechnological research and production.