Team:TU-Eindhoven/LEC/Lab

• Introduction
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  • Background
    information
  • About us
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• Project
  • Project description
  • Lab approach
  • Device information
  • Initial model
  • Yeast model
  • Lab results
  • Our BioBricks^TM
  • Our
    accomplishments
• Considerations
  • Public outreach
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• Future applications
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    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

In the lab we will make living cells that emit light in response to an electric stimulus. This can be achieved by genetic modification of yeast cells, through the introduction of fluorescent calcium sensors and calcium channels. The plasma membrane of the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains the CCH1-MID1 channel 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 these channels. Light will be emitted through the fluorescence of the GECO protein, a calcium sensor that is expressed from a genetically engineered plasmid. When the calcium concentration is high, the GECO protein will fluoresce, but when it is low, the protein will not fluoresce. Electrical stimulation of the cell will allow calcium to enter into the cytoplasm and the GECO proteins will start to fluoresce. After a while the calcium concentration will drop to homeostatic levels through active transport of calcium ions to the yeast's vacuole and fluorescence will cease. Challenges in the laboratory can be found in creating yeast cells with both GECO proteins and a sufficient number of calcium channels incorporated.