Team:UCL
UCL iGEM 2017 presents
LIT(Light Induced Technologies)
We developed applications for biological light switches. The mission was to standardise optogenetic tools for wider use in synthetic biology and to show how we can apply them in tissue engineering, building architectural structures and producing bacterial light-bulbs.
We used biological light switches to design an organ printing system
We combined a photosensitive protein with co-culturing E. Coli and cyanobacteria to design a bioluminescent light bulb. During day time, the photosensitive protein suppresses the bioluminescent ability of engineered E. Coli, while cyanobacteria photosynthesise and produce the necessary glucose for their neighbours. Through our conceptual prototype, we achieve both powerful illumination and sustainability in our light-bulb.
We used a photosensitive protein and a photocaged non-natural amino acid to make 2 light-induced gene activation systems for a 3D printing technology that only uses bacteria as raw material. Guided by light, cells form 3D structures through adhering to each other and then produce the PHB biopolymer, secreting it and layering the material in the already formed structure.
