Glasgow/Wetlab

From 2007.igem.org

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#Restriction digests of constructors 2/23N and 3/20G carried out again using Roche enzymes (see [[Glasgow/Wetlab/Protocols#Protocol 7: Restriction Digests|Protocol 7]]), Buffer B and incubation for at least 1hr at 37°C. All bands on gel are between 2 and 2.5 kb.  Digests as follows:
#Restriction digests of constructors 2/23N and 3/20G carried out again using Roche enzymes (see [[Glasgow/Wetlab/Protocols#Protocol 7: Restriction Digests|Protocol 7]]), Buffer B and incubation for at least 1hr at 37°C. All bands on gel are between 2 and 2.5 kb.  Digests as follows:
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#*2/23N in pSB1AK3, colonies 26, 27, 32:  BamHI, XhoI – 1046bp, 1026bp, 1792bp
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{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center"
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#*3/20G in pSB1AC3, colonies 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35: BamHI, XhoI 1046bp, 892bp,1792bp
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!Constructor
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!Colonies
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!Enzymes
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!Expected Sizes
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|2/23N in pSB1AK3
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|3/20G in pSB1AC3
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|26, 27, 32
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|29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35
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|BamHI, XhoI
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|BamHI, XhoI
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|1046bp, 1026bp, 1792bp
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#Overnights set up to test resistances of the 2/23N and 3/20G constructors.  All colonies 26-35 grown on carbenicillin LB, and colonies 31, 33 and 34 also grown in chloramphenicol LB.
#Overnights set up to test resistances of the 2/23N and 3/20G constructors.  All colonies 26-35 grown on carbenicillin LB, and colonies 31, 33 and 34 also grown in chloramphenicol LB.

Revision as of 00:23, 15 August 2007

Glasgow Main Page


PROTOCOLS REFERENCES ORDERS

Contents

Week 1

03/07

  1. Maija and Christine prepared LB broth and LB agar with Protocol 1. Made 4 batches of plates, 2 with kanamycin and 2 with carbenicillin.

04/07

  1. All wetlab researched BioBricks.
  2. Reporter constructs and mini-Tn5 stocks looked out.
  3. Streaked the following:
    • P. putida PAW 340 pJAK14 (Carb. plate)
    • Tn5 lux AB (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 lux AB (Carb. plate)
    • P. fluorescens NCIMB 9815 (Carb. plate)
    • P. putida KT2440 (LB)
    • JM109 pBluescript 5k+ (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 Tc (Carb. Plate)
    • pQF52 (Carb. plate)
    • P. fluorescens 9815 (LB)
    • E. coli pJAK14 (Km plate)
    • Il DntR in pOF52 (Carb. plate)
    • pUCINR in Ω strain C (Carb. plate)
    • pGLTUR (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 Kan (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 Sm/Sp (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 1cc2 (Carb. plate)
    • E. coli Sa1 (LB)
    • DmpR #24 (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 lac 32 in E. coli 517 (Carb. plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 Tc (Carb. Plate)
    • Mini-Tn5 Cm (Carb. plate)
    • DmpR WT (Carb. plate)
    • E.coli sm 10 pESD15 Tn5 GFP (Carb. plate)
    • pUJ8 (Carb. Plate)

05/07

  1. BioBricks – Maija and Scott transformed using Protocol 2.
    • BBa_p1010 (DB3.1) (death gene plasmid) Plate 4: 7A – p5B1A10, 11E – p5B1A10 and 11C – p5B3K3
    • BBa_IS2001 (Top10) (high copy number plasmid) Plate 4: 5I – p5B4A5, 5D – p5B4K5, 6B – p5B3K5, 6D – p5B4K5 and 6E – p5B4A5 (Also 5K, 5M, 4J, 4L, 4N, 4P)
    • BBa_J23119 (Top 10) (strong constitutive promoter) Plate 3: 19A – pB1A2 (V1013)
    • BBa_R0062 (Top 10) (HSL and luxR inducible) Plate 1: 9G – pSB1A2 (V1004)
    • BBa_J04500 (Top 10) (IPTG inducible prom + RBS) Plate 1: 16P – p5B1AK3 (V1009)
    • BBa_E0040 (Top 10) (GFP mutant no promoter (3b)) Plate 1: 5H – p5B1A2 (V1001)
  2. Maia and Christine researched restriction enzymes for the reporter constructs and Mini-Tn5s streaked on 4/7/07 and digested some. Had planned to make biobricks using Mini-Tn5s etc but discovered that a previous attempt to use transposable elements to make biobricks had been unsuccessful due to scarring at the restriction site. http://partsregistry.org/Part:BBa_J61206

06/07

  1. Maija and Christine made 10x stocks for M9 (see Protocol 3.2 - M9).
  2. Tutorial in BioEdit and Primer3.
  3. Started designing primers for amplification and site directed mutagenesis of DmpR and DmpR #24 (see Protocol 4).

Week 2

09/07

  1. Christine and Maija designed primers for site directed mutagenesis in DmpR, DmpR #24, ****, **** and ****, and amplification of DmpR and DmpR #24. Used Protocol 4, and to check Tm http://www.itt-biotech.de/iit-cgi/oligo-tm.pl
  2. Mai carried out restriction digests of DmpR and DmpR #24. Results were poor and gel gave poor visibility.
  3. Scott retransformed any of the transformations that did not work from the transformations from 5/7/07.
    • 4/11C BBa_p1010 pSB3K3 death gene
    • 4/5I BBa_I522001 pSB4A5 hi-copy
    • 4/5D BBa_I522001 pSB4K5 hi-copy
    • 4/6B BBa_I522001 pSB3K3 hi-copy
    • 4/6D BBa_I522001 pSB4K hi-copy
    • 1/5H BBa_E0040 pSB1A2 GFP non promoter
  4. Used transformations that did work and set them up tubes of LB for minipreps tomorrow.
    • BBa_I52001 death gene plasmid (hi copy number)
    • BBa_J23119 strong constitutive promoter
    • BBa_R0062 HSL and luxR inducible
    • BBa_306500 IPTG inducible and RBS

Plan is to use DmpR and DmpR #24 to detect phenol and produce lacZ. Grown on X-gal, the better the bacteria detect phenol, the more blue they will be in a spectrophotometer.

10/07

  1. Maia did minipreps, according to Qiagen prepkit manual (see Protocol 5), of the transformations grown in LB last night (9/7/07).
  2. Wetlab and Drylab gave presentations to the team to explain key terms used in the lab (see Tutorials).
  3. Christine made tetracycline stock – 250 mg tetracycline in 50 ml 100% ethanol to make 5 mg/ml stock.
  4. Maija made thiamine stock (0.8 g thiamine in 20 ml dH2O and filter sterilized). Kept in freezer in foil (light sensitive).
  5. Christine grew E. coli pJAK14 in LB overnight at 37°C following protocol from Wise et al, 2000).
  6. Scott and Lynsey grew DmpR and DmpR #24 overnight in LB with Tc and Carb. This is because the plates streaked on 4/7/07 for DmpR and DmpR #24 did not grow, and restriction digests on 9/7/07 used up most of the DNA. What is grown will be mini-prepped and restriction digested tomorrow.
    • 2x 5ml LB containing carb (50 µg/ml) with DmpR
    • 2x 5ml LB containing carb (50 µg/ml) with DmpR #24
    • 2x 5ml LB containing Tc (50 µg/ml) with DmpR
    • 2x 5ml LB containing Tc (50 µg/ml) with DmpR #24
    • 2x 5ml LB containing Tc (10 µg/ml) with DmpR
    • 2x 5ml LB containing Tc (10 µg/ml) with DmpR #24
  7. Scott's retransformations (9/7/07) all worked (esp Top 10s, not so much DB3.1). To be mini-prepped tomorrow.

11/07

  1. Lynsey mini-prepped Scott's retransformed biobricks (9/7/07) according to Qiagen Prepkit Manual (see Protocol 5).
  2. Maija prepared glycerol for freezing the transformations in LB.
  3. Can not mini-prep DmpR or DmpR #24 in Tc because it did not grow well overnight. Time for Plan B.
    • Plan B
      DmpR is not working – not growing or digesting as we would expect it to. Instead of DmpR we will try XylR which detects BETX compounds (benzene, toluene, and xylene) and DntR which detects salicylate and could be modified to detect TNT and DNT. For this we will be using pGLTUR and pQF52.
  4. We all began to design primers for site directed mutagenesis (SDM) and amplification of XylR, Pr, Pu and DntR.

12/07

XylR, Pr, and Pu

  1. Searched GenBank for pWW0 which contains XylR, Pr and Pu. Saved in BioEdit.
  2. Using the XylR sequence (Inouye et al, 1988) we were able to design primers for the amplification of XylR.
  3. Using previously designed primers (Willardson et al, 1998) we were able to locate the beginning of Pr and designed primers to amplify the sequence between the beginning of Pr and the beginning of XylR.
  4. From previously designed primers (Willardson et al, 1998) we were able to locate a sequence we believed to be Pu and designed primers. To be sure we also searched pWW0 sequence with Primer3 to locate on the plasmid where the Willardson Pu primers would attach. Using BioEdit we located another sequence we also suspect to be Pu. We now have primers designed for both suspected sequences.
  5. Also designed primers for site directed mutagenesis of the PstI site in XylR.

(We were unable to use the Willardson primers for our purposes because they were designed to contain restriction sites, instead we used them to locate the genes of interest).

DntR

  1. Scott found an article containing the sequence for DntA and some of DntR, then we used BlastX to find the sequence of DntR. From this we were able to design primers to amplify the sequence.
  2. Also designed primers so we can sequence pQF52 because the lacZ gene is not complete in the plasmid and we need to know its sequence.

13/07

  1. Began typing up protocols for the Wiki.
  2. Ordered primers, made changes to DntR_suffix_1 which will arrive later. (See Orders)
  3. Wiki meeting. Maija, Christine H, Majeik, Toby, Christine M, Mai, Scott and Lynsey.

Week 3

17/07

  1. Restriction Digests (see Protocol 7):
    • BBa_J23119 (strong constitutive promoter) pSB1A2. 1 x NheI, 1 x PvuI. 680bp, 1430bp
    • BBa_R0062 (HSL and luxR) pBB1A2. 1 x EcoRI, 1 x PvuI. 1460bp, 660bp
    • BBa_J04500 (IPTG inducer and RBS) pSB1AK3. 1 x PvuII, 2 x PvuI. 2250bp, 1030bp, 730bp
    • BBa_p1010 (death gene) pSB3K3. 1 x BamHI, 2 x XhoI. 190bp, 2390bp,840bp.
    • BBa_E0040 (GFP no promoter) pSB1A2. 1 x Hime II, 1 x PvuI. 1630bp, 1170bp.
    • BBa_I52001 (6D) p5B4K5. 2 x AvaI, 1 x PvuI. 920bp, 1470bp, 2120bp.

18/07

  1. Last night we diluted primers to 100 pmol/ul by adding the amount of dH2O given on the order sheet, and made working solutions to 10 pmol/ul (2 x 200 ul each - 20 ul stock and 180 ul dH2O).
  2. Maija ran a gel of the restriction digests to check the sizes of the biobricks. These were the maps we made yesterday.
  3. Maia is extracting DNA from 3 samples of ****, which were plated yesterday and grown in liquid media, using MoBio PowersoilTM DNA purification kit (see Protocol 8); only change was to shorten "shaking" time from 10 to 2 minutes.
  4. PCR trial run using Reddymix and Touch 2 done on:
    • pGLTUR: XylR_prefix / XylR_suffix, Pr_prefix / Pr_suffix, Pr_prefix / XylR_suffix, Pu_prefix_EM / Pu_suffix_EM.
    • pQF52 plasmid: DntR_prefix / DntR_suffix
    • DmpR WT/24: DntR_prefix / DntR_suffix
    • Biobricks: R0062, E0040, J04500, J23119, p1010, I52001.
    • See Protocol 9 for PCR.

19/07

  1. Maia redid PCR on pGLTUR and pQF52 using Reddymix and a gradient program (See Protocol 9) to minimise the non-specific amplification evident in previous gels. New DntR suffix primer has arrived. Used the following primer sets.
    • XylR prefix and XylR suffix
    • Pr prefix and Pr suffix
    • Pr prefix and XylR suffix
    • Pu prefix and Pu suffix
    • DntR prefix and DntR suffix 2

20/07

Week 4

23/07

  1. PCR Program "Touch 2" with Emma's primers (see Orders 1) using Reddy Mix (See Protocol 9) and Pseudomonas as our template DNA. The primer pairs used:
    1. Methyl_1 and Methyl_2
    2. Oxy_1 and Oxy_2
    3. Bbp_Methyl_1 and Bbp_Methyl_2
    4. Bbp_Oxy_1 and Bbp_Oxy_2
    5. (***)_S_for_1 and (***)_S_rev_1
    6. Bbp_(***)_S_1 and Bbp_(***)_S_1
    7. (***)_M_for_1 and (***)_M_rev_1
    8. Bbp_(***)_M_for_1 and Bbp_(***)_M_rev_1
  2. PCR of 7 gene operon using Program "Touch 2" with extension time of 8 mins with Emma's primers (see Orders 1) and site directed mutagenesis primers (see Orders 2) using Reddy Mix (See Protocol 9) and Pseudomonas as our template DNA. The primer pairs used:
    1. (***)Up and (***)Low
    2. bbp(***)Up and bbs(***)Low
    3. bbp(***)Up and (***)E_SDM_EcoRI_rev
    4. bbs(***)Low and (***)B_SDM_EcoRI_for
  3. PCR with functioning DntR primers using KOD polymerase and KOD Program Protocol 9).
  4. Redid PCR for XylR, Pr and Pu as from 19/07/07 from glycerol stocks, DNA from plates and colony PCR.
  5. Set up overnights of pGLTUR and pQF52 to do lux and lacZ assays.

24/07

  1. Redid 7 gene operon PCR (23/07/07 (2)) with Reddymix and Touch 2, and then redid again with KOD polymerase and KOD program with extension time of 2 mins, 55ºC annealing temperature, and 40 cycles Protocol 9). Added the extra primers combinations for both reactions:
    • bbp(***)Up and (***)B_SDM_EcoRI_rev
    • (***)B_SDM_EcoRI_for and (***)E_SDM_EcoRI_rev
      • And for the KOD polymerase reaction also:
    • bbs(***)_Low and (***)B_SDM_EcoRI_for
  2. Repeated PCR reaction to amplify (*m*) and (*s*) using KOD polymerase and KOD program (see Protocol 9). Results show that bbs(*s*)_rev_1 is faulty, will redesign. Primer combinations also included:
    • (*s*)_for_1 and bbs(*s*)_rev_1
    • bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and (*s*)_rev_1
  3. Gel-extracted from the PCR to amplify (*M*) and (*s*), and purified in order to transform (Protocol 2) into TOP10 cells. Transformations did not work, will do again tomorrow.
  4. Colony PCR for XylR, Pr and Pu (23/07/07 (4.)) showed no unique bands in any of the primer pairs. Will redesign primers for pGLTUR.

25/07

  1. Overnights of pQF52 did not grow, so done again.
  2. Overnights also set up for the Bba_p1010 death gene biobrick to see if cloning could be made faster by inserting our parts into construction plasmids directly from PCR products.
  3. Transformations for (*m*) and (*S*) done again (24/07/07 (3.)) and overnights set up.
  4. The rest of the KOD PCR (24/07/07 (2.)) products were run on gel in order to PCR amplify the (*M*) and (*S*) genes (not gel extraction because fresh A overhangs are required for TA cloning). From the results, another PCR is required for B7 and C4 over a gradient. Primer pairs used:
    • A2: Methyl_1 and Methyl_2
    • A7: bbp_Oxy_1 and bbp_Oxy_2
    • B7: bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and bbs_(*m*)_rev_1
    • C4: bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and (*s*)_rev_1
  5. Restriction digests of Bba_p1010 pSB3K3 were redone using Roche recipe (Protocol 7) as previous attempts were unsuccessful.
    1. AraI, predicted fragment sizes 274bp, 604bp, 569bp, 1978bp.
    2. EcoRI and SpeI, predicted fragment sizes 698bp, 2727bp.
    3. BamHI, XhoI, predicted fragment sizes 188bp, 843bp, 2394bp.
  6. An alternative source of the XylR gene, P. Putida mt-2 strain, which contains the TOL plasmid was plated out and overnights made up (28ºC).
  7. PCR of 7 gene operon does not show bands of interest, will redesign primers (see Orders 2) for site directed mutagnesis on (*d*), and forward and reverse primers for (*a*) and (*g*) respectively.

26/07

  1. Minipreps of DntR transformant and death gene plasmid overnights done (see Protocol 5).
  2. Digests of death gene plasmid show the wrong sizes of bands (see 25/07/07 (2.)).
  3. Overnights of pQF52 with the DntR gene for the Miller assay have still not grown, new overnights set up.
  4. mt-2s have not grown overnight either, possibly because they were done from glycerol stocks. New colonies set up with colonies from LB plates.
  5. PCR of 7 gene operon does not show bands of interest, will redesign primers (see Orders 2) for site directed mutagnesis on (*d*), and forward and reverse primers for (*a*) and (*g*) respectively.
  6. Redesigned XylR, Pr and Pu primers using sequence for XylR (Iouye et al, 1988) and located Pr and Pu sequences using predesigned primer sequences (Willardson et al, 1998) (Orders 2).
  7. New primers also designd for the death gene plasmid (Orders 2).
  8. (*d*) site directed mutagenesis primers, and (*a*) forward and (*g*) reverse primers designed.
  9. PCR done on DntR transformants (2 colonies) using Reddymix and Touch 2 with extension time of 1min 30secs (see Protocol 9). PCR transformants give the right sizes of bands (M13 rev starts a little outside the mcs of the TOPO vector).
  10. PCR with KOD on various combinations of the (*m*) and (*s*) gene primers with different PCR programs (Protocol 9) with the intention of cloning them into TOPO TA vectors and BB construction vectors. A1 and A7 gave good bands but thair KOD equivalents C1 and C7 gave a closer match. Again and combinations with Bbs_(*s*)_rev_1 fail. Primer combinations as follows:
    • A1 Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and bbs_(*m*)_rev_1, Gradient program 58-65ºC
    • A3 Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and Bbs(*s*)_rev_1, Gradient program 58-65ºC
    • A5 Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and (*s*)_rev_1, Gradient program 58-65ºC
    • A7 Bbp_Methyl_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2, Touch 2
    • B1 Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2, KOD
    • B3 Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2, KOD
    • B5 Bbs_Oxy_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2, KOD
    • B7 Bbp_Oxy_1 and Bbs(*s*)_rev_1, KOD
    • C1 Bbp_Methyl_1 and bbs_(*m*)_rev_1, KOD
    • C3 Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and Bbs(*s*)_rev_1, KOD
    • C5 Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and bbs_(*m*)_rev_1, KOD
    • C7 Bbp_Methyl_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2, KOD
  11. B1, B3, B5, C5 and A7 were gel-etracted and PCR-purified into TOPO vectors in Top10 cells.
    • 'Loose' M, A7: Bbp_Methyl_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2
    • 'Close' M, B1: Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2
    • 'Close' S, B3: Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2
    • 'Loose' S, B5: Bbs_Oxy_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2
    • 'Tight' M, C5: Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and bbs_(*m*)_rev_1

27/07

  1. Order placed for primers (see 26/07/07 (5., 6., and 7.)).
  2. Miniprep done of the mt-2 overnights (1 and 2) according to Qiagen prepkit manual (see Protocol 5).
  3. Further PCR done from mt-2 with the existing primers for the XylR system using Reddymix and Touch 2 (see Protocol 9). Used the following primer pairs:
    • XylR prefix and XylR suffix
    • Pr prefix and Pr suffix
    • Pr prefix and XylR suffix
    • Pu prefix EMMA and Pu suffix EMMA
    • Pu prefix AFTER XylR and Pu suffix AFTER XylR
  4. Restriction Digest of DntR in TOPO vector successful, DntR DNA to be sent for sequencing.
    • PvuI - expected fragments 878bp, 2175bp, 1851bp, - observed fragments 878bp, 2175bp, 1851bp.
    • BamHI and NcoI - expected fragments - 2280bp, 2624 bp, - observed fragments 2280bp, 2624bp.
  5. DntR overnights for the Miller assays finally grew. To be subcultured on Sunday for use on Monday.
  6. Construction vectors results (26/07/07 (11.))
    • 4/11E Bba_p1010 pSB1A10 - no growth
    • 4/11C Bba_p1010 pSB3K3 - 1 colony - inoculated overnight
    • 4/7A Bba_p1010 pSB1A10 - 2 colonies - inoculated overnight
    • B1: Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2 - 2 colonies - inoculated overnight
    • B3: Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2 - 3 colonies - inoculated overnight
    • B5: Bbs_Oxy_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2 - no growth, will try cloning direct from gel extraction into biobrick vector
    • C5: Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and bbs_(*m*)_rev_1 - no growth, will try cloning direct from gel extraction into biobrick vector
  7. Observation: TOPO pCR4 vector uses disruption of the ccdB gene as a selection method and the PCR transformants were plated on carbenicillin, perhaps this has killed the transformants. Colony PCR will be done on the successful ones. Overnights were then grown from 3 or more colonies from each (*m*) and (*s*) transformation plate on carbenicillin again. Also leftovers from the gel extractions and purifications(26/07/07) were plated on LB only for later analysis.
  8. More constuction vectors (constructors) were selected for their multiple resistances from the registry to transform into DB3.1. These were then diluted from the kit plates and transformed into DB3.1 (using Protocol 2) and plated overnight. They are as follows:
    • 2/23N Bba_p1010 pSB1AK3 V1005
    • 2/23P Bba_p1010 pSB1AT3 V1005
    • 2/2B Bba_p1010 pSB1AC3 V1005
    • 3/20G Bba_p1010 pSB1A2 V1015

Week 5

30/07

  1. Minipreps done (see Protocol 5):
    Gene Label/Biobrick ID Primers Colonies
    Constructor 4/7A 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
    Constructor 4/11C 1
    Constructor 4/11C 10 – 13 did not grow overnight
    Constructor 2/23N 26, 27, 28, 32
    Constructor 3/20G 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35
    (*m*) B1 1, 2
    (*s*) B3 1, 2, 3
    (*s*) Bbp_(*s*)_for_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2 20, 21, 22
    (*m*) Bbp_(*m*)_for_1 and Bbs_(*m*)_rev_1 23, 24, 25
    (*s*) Bbp_Oxy_1 and Bbs_Oxy_2 14, 15, 16
    (*m*) Bbp_Methyl_1 and Bbs_Methyl_2 17, 18, 19

  2. PCR to check if the BioBrick transformants contain the expected size inserts (used VF2 and VR primers) with Reddymix and Touch 2 program (see Protocol 9). Tested:
    Label 4/11C 4/7A 4/5I 4/5O 4/6B 3/19A 1/9G 1/16P 1/5H B1 B3 B5
    Colonies 10, 11, 12 5, 6, 7 1, 2, 3 1, 2 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3, 4 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 14, 15, 16, 28, 29

  3. Diluted new primers which arrived according to the labels.
  4. Ran new PCR testing the XylR, Pr and Pu primers (original and new which arrived 30/7/07) on mt-2 with Reddymix and Touch2. Both sets of primers successful. The pGLTUR stock was unreliable.
  5. PCR of the 7 gene operon with Reddymix, Touch 2 with an extension time of 8 mins and ***** DNA as template. No desired bands seen. Primer combinations as follows:
    • Bbp_(*a*)_for and Bbs_(*g*)_rev
    • Bbp_(a*)_for and Bbs_(*d*)_rev
    • Bbp_(*d*)_for and Bbs_(*g*)_rev
  6. Restriction digest (see Protocol 7) of 3/20G and 2/23N. Used Promega's AvaI for both digests and buffer B, 1hr at 37°C. Ran 10ul of the reaction with 2ul of loading dye on a 1% agarose gel. No bands showed up on the gel picture.
    Label BioBrick Description Colonies Expected Bands
    3/20G Bba_p1010 in pSB1AC3 V1005 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35 1462bp, 1376bp, 892bp
    2/23N Bba_p1010 in pSB1AK3 V1005 26, 27, 28, 32 1462bp, 1376bp, 569bp, 457bp
  7. To understand why restriction digests did not appear, ran gel of miniprepped DNA. No bands present. Minipreps ran:
    • 2/23N: Colonies 26, 27, 28
    • 3/20G: Colonies 30, 31
  8. Cleaned out cells and reassembled according to NCBE protocol, using one as a negative control replacing yeast with water.

31/07

  1. Cells reassembled because they had leaked over night.
  2. PCR (see Protocol 9) of the 7 gene operon repeated using KOD polymerase and KOD program. Amplified A-D 3.5kb and D-G 3.5kb. Primer pair as follows:
    • Bbp_(*a*)_for and Bbs_(*g*)_rev
    • Bbp_(a*)_for and Bbs_(*d*)_rev
    • Bbp_(*d*)_for and Bbs_(*g*)_rev
  3. PCR (see Protocol 9) of the 7 gene operon repeated using KOD XL polymerase and KOD XL program. Amplified A-G 7kb. Primer pair as follows:
    • Bbp_(*a*)_for and Bbs_(*g*)_rev
    • Bbp_(a*)_for and Bbs_(*d*)_rev
    • Bbp_(*d*)_for and Bbs_(*g*)_rev
  4. Gel ran of yesterday's BioBrick confirmation (VF2 and VR) PCR. Expected sizes and results as follows:
Label 4/11C 4/7A 4/5I 4/5O 4/6B 3/19A 1/9G 1/16P 1/5H B1 B3 B5
Expected Sizes 981bp 4096bp 1396bp 1396bp 1396bp 273bp 293bp 535bp 958bp 1072bp 1262bp 1260bp
Results Correct All wrong Correct Correct 2 and 3 correct Correct Correct Correct Correct 17, 18, 19, 26 correct 23 correct All wrong
  1. Restriction digests of constructors 2/23N and 3/20G carried out again using Roche enzymes (see Protocol 7), Buffer B and incubation for at least 1hr at 37°C. All bands on gel are between 2 and 2.5 kb. Digests as follows:
Constructor Colonies Enzymes Expected Sizes
2/23N in pSB1AK3 3/20G in pSB1AC3
26, 27, 32 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35
BamHI, XhoI BamHI, XhoI
1046bp, 1026bp, 1792bp 1046bp, 892bp, 1792bp
  1. Overnights set up to test resistances of the 2/23N and 3/20G constructors. All colonies 26-35 grown on carbenicillin LB, and colonies 31, 33 and 34 also grown in chloramphenicol LB.

01/08

  1. Meeting with modellers about biobricks.
  2. Of yesterday's overnights, the 3 with chloramphenicol did not grow. This confirms that 3/20G is 3/20G and not 2/2B as previously believed as a result of mislabelling. All overnights then miniprepped according to Qiagen protocol.
  3. New restriction digest for new miniprepped 3/20G and 2/23N. 3/20G using Roche enzymes, Buffer B and incubating for at least 1hr at 37°C, digestion worked. 2/23N using Promega's AvaI restriction enzyme as on 30/7/07, AvaI cut the plasmid but not the biobrick.
    • 3/20G in pSB1AC3, colonies 30 and 31: BamHI, PvuI – 1411bp, 1343bp (Xho does not cut).
    • Overnights set up: 2/23N – 26, 27, 28 and 3/20G – 33 (all carb).
  4. Gel run of 7 gene operon PCR from 31/7/07 and DNA extracted according to Qiagen Gel Extraction Microcentrifuge Protocol (see Protocol 11).
  5. PCR (see Protocol 9) repeated for XylR, Pr and Pu because the previous Pu primer combinations did not work. Primer combinations as follows:
    • XylR preffix and XylR suffix
    • Pr prefix and Pr suffix
    • Pr_for_2 and XylR_rev_2
    • Pu_Pre_EM and Pu_Suf_AFT
    • Pu_Pre_AFT and Pu_Suf_EM
  6. Researched restriction maps for plasmids with death genes.
  7. Overnights set up with the intention of digesting constructors of (*m*) and (*s*) after miniprepping in the morning, hopefully getting ligations that will transform TOP10 cells to grow overnight. Colonies were chosen that gave a positive result of the right predicted size (see 31/7/07) on a gel of PCR with VF2 and VR primers.
    • 4/11C constructor – 10, 11, 12 (Kan)
    • 4/5I constructor – 1, 2, 3 (Carb)
    • 4/5O constructor – 1, 2, 3 (Kan)
    • 4/6B constructor – 2, 3 (Kan)
    • B1 (*m*) - 17, 18, 19, 26 (Carb)
    • B3 (*s*) - 20 (Carb)
    • C5 (*m*) - 24, 25 (Carb)
  8. Miller Assay was done (according to Protocol 10) on E. coli cell culture aliquots containing the DntR system grown up in LB. A range of salicylate concentrations (0 mM, 20 uM, 50 uM, 100 uM and 200 uM)were added to aliqouts and then allowed to grow for a further 3 hours. As this was a trial run, measurements at only one time point (58 minutes)were taken.

The very high level of LacZ expression throughout the range of concentrations of salicylate could be due to the content of tryptophan in the LB media which could act upon the DntR responsive promoter. In order to try and minimize the background LacZ expression due to the presence of aromatic compounds present in the LB media, cell cultures will be grown up in minimal media instead.

02/08

  1. Minimal media prepared for the Miller Assay because it does not interfere with enzyme activity (see Protocol 10).
  2. Minipreps (see Protocol 5) done of yesterday's overnights for (*m*) and (*s*).
  3. Digestions (see Protocol 7) done of these (*m*) and (*s*) minipreps:


Gene Label Colonies Primers Enzyme Orientation 1 Orientation 2 Results
(*m*) B1 17, 18, 19, 26 (*m*)_for_1 + Methyl_2 PstI 4243bp, 443bp, 275bp 3683bp, 835bp, 443bp 17, 18 + 26 possibly in orientation 1
(*m*) B1 17, 18, 19, 26 (*m*)_for_1 + Methyl_2 EcoRI 3654bp, 1287bp, 18bp 4654bp, 286bp, 18bp 17, 18 + 26 possibly in orientation 1
(*m*) C5 24, 25 (*m*)_for_1 + (*m*)_rev_1 PstI 4243bp, 443bp, 275bp 3683bp, 835bp, 443bp Appears wrong
(*m*) C5 24, 25 (*m*)_for_1 + (*m*)_rev_1 EcoRI 4243bp, 443bp, 275bp 3683bp, 835bp, 443bp Possibly in orientation 1
(*s*) B3 20 (*s*)_for_1 + Oxy_2 PstI 4012bp, 534bp, 344bp, 275bp 3683bp, 604bp, 534bp, 344bp Possibly in orientation 1
(*s*) B3 20 (*s*)_for_1 + Oxy_2 EcoI 3656bp, 1491bp, 18bp 4682bp, 285bp, 18bp Possibly in orientation 1


  1. PCR (see Protocol 9) done with newly arrived death gene primers on the miniprepped DNA to make sure the BioBrick overnights genuinely carry their respective versions of ccdB (esp 23N as it does not run correctly on the gel) using Reddymix and Touch 2 with Tm of 60C and 28 cycles, saved as PCR60DEG.


Reference Colonies
4/11C 10, 11, 12
4/5I 1, 2, 3
4/6B 2, 3
4/5O 1, 2, 3
2/23N 26, 27, 33
3/20G 28


  1. PCR (see Protocol 9) also done (using the primers used to create the cloned versions of (*m*) and (*s*)) in minipreps, done this morning, of TOPO PCR (hopefully containing (*m*) and (*s*)) to confirm that the insert is genuinely there. Used Reddymix and Touch2. All constructs appear to contain the ccdB gene.


Gene Label Colonies Primers Size Results
(*m*) B1 17, 18, 19, 26 (*m*)_for_1 + Bbs_Methyl_2 1072bp Appears correct
(*s*) B3 20 (*s*)_for_1 + Oxy_2 1220bp Appears correct
(*m*) C5 24, 25 (*m*)_for_1 + (*m*)_rev_1 1225bp 24 possibly too big, 25 appears wrong

03/08

  1. Miller assay (see Protocol 10) repeated on E.coli cultures grown up in minimal media. Measurements were taken at three time points (10, 30 and 60 minutes) and the range of salicylate concentrations used was expanded (0mM, 10 uM, 100 uM, 1mM and 10 mM)
  2. A 1% gel was run for the p1010 PCR products from 02/08.
    • 23N (pSB1AK3) plasmid size ~3800bp - AvaI did not cut the biobrick.
    • 20G (pSB1A2) plasmid size ~2700bp - digest worked!
Label BioBrick ID Enzyme Expected Bands Bands Seen
4/11C p1010 pSB3K3 AvaI 4419bp, 604bp, 569bp, 274bp 604bp
4/5O IS2001 pSB4K5 AvaI, SspI 2044bp, 1546bp, 594bp, 307bp, 18bp 2044bp, 1546bp, 594bp, 307bp
4/6B IS2001 pSB3K5 AvaI, SspI 3153bp, 568bp, 307bp 3151bp, 568bp, 307bp
4/5I IS2001 pSB4A5 AvaI, SspI 1605bp, 1572bp, 987bp, 307bp, 14bp 1605bp, 1572bp, 307bp
4/6B IS2001 pSB3K5 AvaI, NheI 2304bp, 1722bp 2304bp, 1722bp (but not in same digest)