BATS

Date/Time:

May 6, 2016 - 12:00 PM

Location:

Hosts:

Bevin P. Engelward

Speaker:

Title:

Development of Tools for the Facilitated Engineering of the Bacterial Genome

Abstract:

In bacteria, genetic systems are engineered in plasmids due to the ease of use and the high efficiency. However, these systems burden the cell and require antibiotics to maintain them. While genome integration resolves such issues, the process is not straightforward. Here, we introduce a transposon Tn5-based system that integrates genetic systems to genomic locations with the specified expression levels, by using a one-step transformation. With this tool, we will introduce synthetic systems to the genome of a probiotic strain E. coli Nissle.

Speaker:

Title:

miRNA Sensors: Characterization, Prediction and Design Rules

Abstract:

miRNA sensors offer a convenient strategy for obtaining cell-type specific expression with genetic circuits. However, current design strategies for miRNA sensors often result in sensors that perform poorly or differently than expected due to the lack of understanding of the underlying design rules for such sensors. We present our current progress in characterizing basic miRNA sensors and using these data to predict behavior for more complicated multi-input miRNA sensors.