Difference between revisions of "Team:Wellesley TheTech/Project/Wetlab"
| Line 87: | Line 87: | ||
- Plate out bacteria and put in incubator<br> | - Plate out bacteria and put in incubator<br> | ||
</p> | </p> | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | <h3>Mobile Lab Setup</h3> | ||
| + | <p>Pic of mobile lab layout from testing at The Tech <b> IMAGE IN G DOC </b> <br> | ||
| + | -Equipment included: heat block, cooler, incubator, transfer pipettes, spreaders, tube racks, and the biological reagents listed above.<br> | ||
| + | -Different plasmid DNA were linked in the mobile lab background graphics to one of the 5 needs in BacPack’s Mars environment:<br> | ||
| + | -Lux Operon = oxygen<br> | ||
| + | -aeBlue = water<br> | ||
| + | -amilGFP = food<br> | ||
| + | -eforRed = heat<br> | ||
| + | -asPink = fuel<br> | ||
| + | - Visitors pick what bacteria they want to engineer, based on what resource they want to contribute to Mars and are given that DNA to use in their personal ‘petri dish design area:<b> IMAGE IN GOOGLE DOC</b>’<br> | ||
| + | - The wetlab Mars activity was designed to be facilitated by staff. This makes the experience more personable as well as support more in depth discussion of the biology, the technology, and its implications. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | <h3>Safety</h3> | ||
| + | <p>The weltlab side of Bac Pack posed limited safety risks. We did not employ any dangerous organisms or reagents. The plasmids used were well-characterized ones from the iGEM distribution kit and transformations were done using E.coli. All wetlab work and prototyping with visitors on the floor adhered to standard BSL1 biosafety guidelines. This includes adequate training and oversight for techniques and equipment, proper containment, cleanup and disposal of chemicals, biological reagents and hazardous waste, appropriate use of PPE and adherence to standard microbiological practices.</p> | ||
| + | |||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 01:07, 18 September 2015
WETLAB COMPONENT
Description of above image
Goal
The goal of the wetlab component of BacPack is to connect the digital experience to a hands-on, lab-based one. In the digital activity visitors explore designing bacteria to have a variety of new, useful functions for helping humans survive in different extreme environments. In the wetlab activity visitors get try their hands at the same real-world process of engineering a bacteria to have a new property of their choosing.
Activity Design Outline
Visitors transform a living bacteria to make it do something new:
-5 DNA options that change the physical appearance of bacteria in different ways
-Each ‘color’ represents a bacteria function that can provide one of the 5 needs on Mars
-Visitors pick the DNA they want to use and transform e.coli with it
-They can see a photo of their grown ‘mars bacteria’ several days later
Development
Plasmids:
Selected 5 bioBricks from the iGEM distribution kit:
-Lux Operon (BBa_K325909) - Bioluminescence pathway
amilGFP (BBa_K592010) - Yellow chromoprotein
aeBlue (BBa_K864401) - Blue chromoprotein
eforRed (BBa_K592012) - Red/pink chromoprotein
asPink (BBa_K1033933) - Pink/purple chromoprotein
Transformation
Optimized to be accessible/easy for walk-up museum visitors of all ages and skill levels:
Reagents (pre-made by staff):
- 6cm LB-agar plates with 25 ug/ml Chloramphenicol
- Plasmid DNA in 100ul CaCl2
- 20 ul competent bacteria
Transformation protocol (done by visitors):
- Combine 100 DNA with 20 ul of competent bacteria
- 30 sec on ice
- 40 sec heat shock at 42 degrees C
- Plate out bacteria and put in incubator
Mobile Lab Setup
Pic of mobile lab layout from testing at The Tech IMAGE IN G DOC
-Equipment included: heat block, cooler, incubator, transfer pipettes, spreaders, tube racks, and the biological reagents listed above.
-Different plasmid DNA were linked in the mobile lab background graphics to one of the 5 needs in BacPack’s Mars environment:
-Lux Operon = oxygen
-aeBlue = water
-amilGFP = food
-eforRed = heat
-asPink = fuel
- Visitors pick what bacteria they want to engineer, based on what resource they want to contribute to Mars and are given that DNA to use in their personal ‘petri dish design area: IMAGE IN GOOGLE DOC’
- The wetlab Mars activity was designed to be facilitated by staff. This makes the experience more personable as well as support more in depth discussion of the biology, the technology, and its implications.
Safety
The weltlab side of Bac Pack posed limited safety risks. We did not employ any dangerous organisms or reagents. The plasmids used were well-characterized ones from the iGEM distribution kit and transformations were done using E.coli. All wetlab work and prototyping with visitors on the floor adhered to standard BSL1 biosafety guidelines. This includes adequate training and oversight for techniques and equipment, proper containment, cleanup and disposal of chemicals, biological reagents and hazardous waste, appropriate use of PPE and adherence to standard microbiological practices.