Coding

Part:BBa_K861090

Designed by: Kuanwei Sheng   Group: iGEM12_WHU-China   (2012-09-18)
Revision as of 23:31, 1 November 2017 by Orlandohramos (Talk | contribs)

YhjH Gene From E.coli str. K12

YhjH protein contains a EAL domain to catalyze c-di-GMP into GMP. c-di-GMP is a magic molecule that can activate bcsB gene, a major component of cellulose synthetase complex. Also, c-di-GMP can serve as a second messager to inhibit motility and increse biofilm formation and adhesion of bacteria. Thus, the expression of YhjH gene can make the bacteria more motile.

Usage and Biology

The existing biopart (BBa_K861090), which is in iGEM's Parts Registry since 2012, was improved by adding a T7 promoter, RBS and T7 terminator to its sequence; which resulted in the creation of our new composite BioBrick® https://parts.igem.org/Part:BBa_K2471001 (BBa_K2471001). The function of the enzyme encoded by the yhjH gene is to promote motility whilst reducing biofilm production; to demonstrate this, Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) was transformed with the new BioBrick®, to subsequently, study bacterial adherence by performing a colorimetric absorbance study. Greater adhesion was observed per area in the transformed bacteria with the composite yhjH BioBrick® than in the normal, non-transformed ones. This is because, by promoting motility, the bacteria were able to reach more area within the wells, and thus, form more biofilm although its normal production was being suppressed. Based on this, we can affirm that the improved yhjH BioBrick® works and that it's expressed correctly in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3).

Bacteria often thrive in surface-associated multicellular communities that have advantages over individual cells, such as protection against unfavorable environmental conditions (predation, the presence of antimicrobials, host's immune response, etcetera). Biofilms are sessile communities, with microorganisms embedded within a matrix and attached to a surface (Verstraeten et al., 2008). Another mechanism for bacteria to cope with changes in the surrounding is to actively leave unfavorable environments for more fitting ones. Thus, being motile provides a survival advantage to many bacteria. The flagella present in many species provides them with an efficient form of locomotion through liquid and viscous environments, as well as on surfaces (Paulick et al., 2009).

The improvement of the yhjH gene found in iGEM's Parts Registry (BBa_K861090) was done by adding a T7 promoter and RBS https://parts.igem.org/Part:BBa_K525998 (BBa_K525998) and a T1 terminator https://parts.igem.org/Part:BBa_B0010 (BBa_B0010) to its sequence, in order to make the expression of the protein of interest possible; the result was the creation of one of our three composite BioBricks (BBa_K2471001). Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) was transformed with it in order to characterize it using an absorbance-based colorimetric protocol (to see specifications visit protocols section).

alt text

Figure 1. ELISA microplate where the colorimetric protocol was carried out.

</center>

</center>

Since the equipment was unable to correctly register the readings, a 1:10 and 1:20 dilution of the original ELISA microplate was made for the sake of recording the absorbance values. In addition, this dilution made possible to visualize the difference in colorant at sight. Only the 1:10 was taken into consideration. As shown in Figure 1, the colorant intensity is higher in the yhjH transformation than in the normal bacteria.

<center><img src="T--Tec-Chihuahua--Hoja2.png" width="1100"></center>

<center>

Figure 2. ELISA microplate where the colorimetric protocol was carried out.

</center>

</center>

Sequence and Features


Assembly Compatibility:
  • 10
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
  • 12
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
  • 21
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
  • 23
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
  • 25
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
  • 1000
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]


[edit]
Categories
Parameters
None