Small molecule sensors

BBa_J07019 this small molecule sensor can be used to induce gene expression in the presence of Ferric Citrate. A working construct of J07019->RFP can be found here, BBa_J07066

---

A small molecule sensor can trigger gene expression when a small molecule becomes present in a cell's environment. Generally, each sensor is specific only to one or a range of small molecules. These sensors are generally surface proteins that cand bind to a small molecule ligand. Upon binding, the surfact protein changes conformation, causing one or more intra-cell signals to induce gene expression.

A common method of creating a small molecule sensor is to find (discover or literature research) a cellular pathway that is induced by a certain molecule. The surface protein(s) and intial promotors of the mechanism can be isolated from the wild type cellular pathway and made into a BioBrick part. The isolated surface protein + promotor can be put upstream of a new expression gene and inserted into a cell.