Part:BBa_K5401003

p15A_T7Promoter_eCFP

Low-copy number plasmid encoding for enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (eCFP) under T7 Promoter. The plasmid was utilised as part of a reporter system to evaluate the efficiency of T7 RNA polymerase and its variants. The plasmid was constructed using ligation from the following parts found in the iGEM Registry: • BBa_J428350 - p15A Backbone • BBa_K3457003 - T7 Promoter • BBa_J428032 - Ribosomal Binding Site (RBS) • BBa_E0020 - eCFP • BBa_J428091 - T7Terminator

Usage and Biology

T7 RNA Polymerase is a RNA polymerase derived from the T7 bacteriophage. It shows very high transcriptional activity, and is very specific to its cognate promoter: 5'-TAATACGACTCACTATAGG-3'. T7 RNA Polymerase is widely utilised in the field of biotechnology, such as in areas of in vivo protein expression and in vitro transcription.

The main purpose of this plasmid is to serve as a reporter system, to evaluate the efficiency of the T7 RNA polymerase and other generated variants. It was used in conjuction with other reporter plasmids. C1 (BBa_K5401000; pUC_T7Promoter_eCFP), C2 (BBa_K5401001; pBRR322_T7Promoter_eCFP), C3(BBa_K5401002; p15A_T7Promoter_eCFP).

Characterization

The plasmid is first transformed into BL21 (DE3) E. coli cells, followed by colony PCR to confirm the successful transformation. A single colony is then inoculated for further culturing for IPTG induction. Fluorescence was stably expressed even after sub-culturing.

A quantitative analysis of our reporter systems was also performed to further corroborate their functionality. A similar IPTG induction protocol was followed, where bacterial cultures were induced with IPTG and incubated at 37°C for 2 hours. Our quantitative results corroborate our previous qualitative analysis, where only fluorescence was observed in IPTG-induced BL21 (DE3) cells harbouring plasmid C2 or C3.

Fig 8: Quantification of relative fluorescence intensity for all three reporter systems. From left to right, C1(-IPTG), C1(+IPTG), C2(-IPTG), C2(+IPTG), C3(-IPTG) and C3(+IPTG) [LEFT] Replicate 1; n=8 technical replicates. [CENTER] Replicate 2; n=6 technical replicates. [RIGHT] Replicate 3; n=6 technical replicates.

Sequence and Features

Assembly Compatibility:

• 10
  INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]

  Illegal prefix found in sequence at 2948
  Illegal suffix found in sequence at 16
  
• 12
  INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]

  Illegal EcoRI site found at 2948
  Illegal SpeI site found at 17
  Illegal PstI site found at 31
  Illegal NotI site found at 24
  Illegal NotI site found at 2954
  
• 21
  INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]

  Illegal EcoRI site found at 2948
  
• 23
  INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]

  Illegal prefix found in sequence at 2948
  Illegal suffix found in sequence at 17
  
• 25
  INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]

  Illegal prefix found in sequence at 2948
  Illegal XbaI site found at 2963
  Illegal SpeI site found at 17
  Illegal PstI site found at 31
  Illegal NgoMIV site found at 1390
  
• 1000
  INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]

  Illegal SapI.rc site found at 2188