Team:TU-Eindhoven

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• Introduction
  • Home page
  • Background
    information
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Our photos
• Project
  • Project description
  • Lab approach
  • Device information
  • Initial model
  • Yeast model
  • Lab results
  • Our BioBricks^TM
  • Our
    accomplishments
• Considerations
  • Public outreach
  • Safety questions
  • Other thoughts
• Future applications
  • Human interest
  • Further
    developments
• Notebook
  • Before week 1
  • Week 1
  • Week 2
  • Week 3
  • Week 4
  • Week 5
  • Week 6
  • Week 7
  • Week 8
  • Week 9
  • Week 10
  • Week 11
  • Week 12
  • After week 12
  • Lab protocols
• Partners
  • ICMS TU/e
  • Team collaborations
  • Attributions and Contributions
  • Our sponsors

Please note: This page is still heavily under development, so many links will not yet function.

Light Emitting Cells

This year's project will be all about Light Emitting Cells (LECs) that emit light in response to an electric stimulus. A LEC has to emit light conditionally, that is, it has to react a control signal. In our case the control signal will be an electric field that is strong enough to depolarize the plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, but weak enough for the cells to survive.

The plasma membrane of S. cerevisiae contains the CCH1-MID1 channel protein complex that is homologous to mammalian Voltage Gated Calcium Channels (VGCCs). It is hypothesized that upon depolarization of the plasma membrane, calcium ions selectively enter the cytoplasm through CCH1-MID1. Light will be emitted through the fluorescence of GECO protein, a calcium sensor that is expressed from an genetically engineered plasmid. When the calcium concentration is high the GECO proteins will be fluorescent, when the calcium concentration is low the GECO proteins will not be fluorescent. After a while the calcium concentration will drop to homeostatic levels through active transport to the yeast's vacuole and fluorescence will cease.

In conclusion: An electric field is used to control the fluorescence of a calcium sensor protein in a yeast cell.

Device

Introduction to the device for stimulation of LECs.

Achievements in iGEM competition

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Please see iGEM official results page to see how all the teams did.

In the news

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