Part:BBa_K1890000
Silicatein gene with strong RBS
Introduction
Silicatein, originating from the demosponge Suberites domuncula, catalyzes the formation of polysilicate. This biobrick contains the short version of the silicatein gene, according to Müller et al [1][2]. The silicatein gene is combined with the strong RBS BBa_B0034.
Sequence and Features
- 10COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
- 12COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
- 21COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
- 23COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
- 25COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
- 1000COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]
Usage and Biology
Silicatein is an enzyme natively found in demosponges and diatoms, where it catalyzes the condensation of silica to form the typical skeletal elements. Here, we use the enzyme to create a polysilicate layer around the host organism E. coli.
Characterization
In order to characterize the formation of a polysilicate layer around E. coli, we performed the following experiments.
- Rhodamine 123 staining
- Growth study
Staining with Rhodamine 123
In this experiment we imaged the silicatein expressing cells with a fluorescence microscope, after treating them with a fluorescent dye. The fluorescent dye Rhodamine 123 (Sigma) has shown to bind specifically to polysilicate [3]. Cells were stained according to the protocol based on Li et al. and Müller et al. [3][4]. Rhodamine was excited with a wavelength of 395 nm.
References
[1] Müller, W. E. G., Engel, S., Wang, X., Wolf, S. E., Tremel, W., Thakur, N. L., … Schröder, H. C. (2008). Bioencapsulation of living bacteria (Escherichia coli) with poly(silicate) after transformation with silicatein-α gene. Biomaterials, 29(7), 771–779.
[2] Müller, W. E. G. (2003). Silicon biomineralization.
[3] Li, C. W., Chu, S., & Lee, M. (1989). Characterizing the silica deposition vesicle of diatoms. Protoplasma, 151(2-3), 158–163.
[4] Müller, W. E. G., Rothenberger, M., Boreiko, A., Tremel, W., Reiber, A., & Schröder, H. C. (2005). Formation of siliceous spicules in the marine demosponge Suberites domuncula. Cell and Tissue Research, 321(2), 285–297.
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