Team:UC San Diego/Description
Abstract
The lux system’s characteristic bioluminescent reaction has been the subject of intense research due to the potential of luciferase as a reporter. Compared to common fluorescent reporter systems, luciferase assays offer increased sensitivity and do not run the risk of inducing phototoxicity in the system being analyzed. As a result, they offer a powerful tool to researchers seeking to monitor a wide variety of biological processes. However, the environmental conditions, such as the amount of metabolites available, affects the bioluminescent reaction. Therefore, our objective is to modify the expression of the genes lux C, D, and E to determine the rate-limiting steps.
We will develop and assemble three plasmids that expressed the aforementioned genes in a 1:1:2 ratio.. The plasmid vectors will be inserted into Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the variation in light yield will be measured. To further our findings, we will create an experimentally validated mathematical model that provides an in depth in silico analysis. With these results, we can optimize the pathway by controlling the expression of certain enzymes.