Difference between revisions of "Team:Columbia NYC"

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<h2> Project Overview </h2>
 
<h2> Project Overview </h2>
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<p> Our ultimate goal is to design a template for the establishment of a consortia of engineered bacteria whose individual component can effectively communicate with one another. From an abstract perspective, this collection of biological parts and circuits is essentially a biological computer that can perform algorithms by processing information and generating an output. From a practical perspective, such a system will allow individual cell types to have specific roles that allow for the division of labor, much like the specialization of cells in multi-cellular organisms. However, such a broad goal is quite expansive and not appropriate for the time frame of an iGEM project; as such, we narrowed the scope of the project to focus on establishing such a consortia of bacteria for the organized secretion of gut-peptides in probiotic cells that will work in tandem with the natural gut-flora to help modulate and regulate hormonal activities in humans - thereby providing a therapeutic system that is adaptive to the environment of the host. </p>
 
<p> Our ultimate goal is to design a template for the establishment of a consortia of engineered bacteria whose individual component can effectively communicate with one another. From an abstract perspective, this collection of biological parts and circuits is essentially a biological computer that can perform algorithms by processing information and generating an output. From a practical perspective, such a system will allow individual cell types to have specific roles that allow for the division of labor, much like the specialization of cells in multi-cellular organisms. However, such a broad goal is quite expansive and not appropriate for the time frame of an iGEM project; as such, we narrowed the scope of the project to focus on establishing such a consortia of bacteria for the organized secretion of gut-peptides in probiotic cells that will work in tandem with the natural gut-flora to help modulate and regulate hormonal activities in humans - thereby providing a therapeutic system that is adaptive to the environment of the host. </p>
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<p> The key components to such a system are inter- & intra- cellular communications and a platform for the release of peptides from the cell. In order to design a system with a practical purpose and further refine our goals, the team focused on a design that could potentially combat obesity and diabetes by utilizing the following gut peptides: </p>
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<li> Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1): Enhances the secretion of insulin  </li>
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<li> Peptide YY (PYY): Down-regulates appetite  </li>
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<li> Ghrelin: Up-regulates appetite </li>
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Revision as of 20:11, 13 July 2015

Project Overview

Our ultimate goal is to design a template for the establishment of a consortia of engineered bacteria whose individual component can effectively communicate with one another. From an abstract perspective, this collection of biological parts and circuits is essentially a biological computer that can perform algorithms by processing information and generating an output. From a practical perspective, such a system will allow individual cell types to have specific roles that allow for the division of labor, much like the specialization of cells in multi-cellular organisms. However, such a broad goal is quite expansive and not appropriate for the time frame of an iGEM project; as such, we narrowed the scope of the project to focus on establishing such a consortia of bacteria for the organized secretion of gut-peptides in probiotic cells that will work in tandem with the natural gut-flora to help modulate and regulate hormonal activities in humans - thereby providing a therapeutic system that is adaptive to the environment of the host.

The key components to such a system are inter- & intra- cellular communications and a platform for the release of peptides from the cell. In order to design a system with a practical purpose and further refine our goals, the team focused on a design that could potentially combat obesity and diabetes by utilizing the following gut peptides: