Module 5: Salt Tolerance

Description | Design | Construction | Characterisation | Modelling | Results | Conclusions

Design

In order to allow our cells to survive in the marine environment, we identified the need to confer salt tolerance on our E. Coli. As such, we looked through the literature to locate genes that might be useful in this regards.

Our search allowed us to locate IrrE, a gene native to Deinococcus Radiodurans. It has been previously transformed into E.coli, and functions as a control gene for various metabolic and signalling pathways. IrrE upregulates the expression of various stress responsive proteins, thereby conferring salt tolerance in E.Coli.

What interests us about the IrrE gene is that it is a global regulator, conferring resistance to ionising radiation and UV light in Deinococcus Radiodurans, and similar abiotic stress in E.Coli. As such, IrrE has the prospect to be utilised in various hostile environments beyond the constrains of our project, potentially utilised in multiple scenarios where E.Coli would not normally thrive.