Imperial/Infector Detector/Modelling
From 2007.igem.org
Introduction
Infector Detector (ID) is a simple biological detector, which serves to expose bacterial biofilm. It functions by exploiting the inherent AHL (Acetyl Homoserine Lactone) production employed by certain types of quorum-sensing bacteria, in the formation of such structures.
In the design phase, two possible system constructs were proposed, as a solution to the problem of detecting AHL-producing biofilm.
This section presents a preliminary model for an AHL detector, which employs the backbone of the Lux quorum sensing feedback mechanism. Figure 1 illustrates the full system we are investigating.
In doing so, a complete investigation of the level of sensitivity to AHL concentration needs to be performed -in other words, what is the minimal AHL concentration for appreciable expression of a chosen reporter protein. Furthermore, establish a functional range for possible AHL detection. How does increased AHL concentration impact on the maximal output of reporter protein?
Finally, how can the system performance be tailored, by exploiting possible state variables (e.g. varying initial LuxR concentration and/or concentration of pLux promoters).
The system performance here revolves most importantly around AHL sensitivity; however, the effect on the maximal output of fluorescent reporter protein and response time is, likewise, of great importance.
Implementation & Reaction Network
Representative Model
