Difference between revisions of "Microbe Hackers"

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[[File:IMG 20160208 074031210-sacled.jpg |150px|thumb|left| Agar plate of E. coli containing different genetic devices created by the students of Microbe Hackers, including a green glowing E. coli.]]
 
[[File:IMG 20160208 074031210-sacled.jpg |150px|thumb|left| Agar plate of E. coli containing different genetic devices created by the students of Microbe Hackers, including a green glowing E. coli.]]
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= Stream Research and Experiments =
  
 
== Want your cell to glow green instead of its boring "normal color"? ==
 
== Want your cell to glow green instead of its boring "normal color"? ==
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Or, maybe a different color.  In Microbe Hackers, you work with these genetically engineered bacteria and you engineer your own bacteria, learning the techniques that will allow you to partake in more comprehensive projects that may span not only your time in Microbe Hackers, but also the time of past and future students.  Virtually every organism that you work with was created by a previous Microbe Hacker.
 
Or, maybe a different color.  In Microbe Hackers, you work with these genetically engineered bacteria and you engineer your own bacteria, learning the techniques that will allow you to partake in more comprehensive projects that may span not only your time in Microbe Hackers, but also the time of past and future students.  Virtually every organism that you work with was created by a previous Microbe Hacker.
 
 
  
  
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Let's modify its genome and then throw in a genetic device that allows it to live off of caffeine.  Previous research by our students can be found covering the [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/sb4000146 creation of caffeinated coli] and its use by [http://2014.igem.org/Team:Austin_Texas/human_practices our students in Austin] and further ongoing research on applying the system to [http://2015.igem.org/Team:Austin_UTexas/Project/Caffeine complex beverages].  This work is currently being written up for submission to a scientific journal.  All of the authors are either current or former Microbe Hackers.
 
Let's modify its genome and then throw in a genetic device that allows it to live off of caffeine.  Previous research by our students can be found covering the [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/sb4000146 creation of caffeinated coli] and its use by [http://2014.igem.org/Team:Austin_Texas/human_practices our students in Austin] and further ongoing research on applying the system to [http://2015.igem.org/Team:Austin_UTexas/Project/Caffeine complex beverages].  This work is currently being written up for submission to a scientific journal.  All of the authors are either current or former Microbe Hackers.
  
 
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== Ongoing Research Projects ==
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Currently, we have several active research areas:
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1.  Wrapping up our "Caffeinated Coli" project.
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2.  Chromoproteins - Creating a more "stable" set of diverse proteins that produce color.  These sequences are used in many of our other projects.
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3.  Evolutionary Stability or "EvoStability" - Studying DNA sequence elements that are more prone to mutation, and determining these rates.  This data will allow synthetic biologists and other scientists to design "more stable" DNA sequences.  This is important for the field of synthetic biology.  It is only tangentially related to human disease and we do not actively explore these connections.  Some of this research was presented as our 2015 iGEM team project.
 +
4.  Cyanobacteria - These bacteria are photosynthetic algae.  We attempt to isolate them from the amazing "UTEX" facility that collects algae from around the world.  We also attempt to genetically engineer them.  This is challenging for several reasons, and an active area of interest.
 +
5.  Kombucha - This is a "brewed beverage", that is made by yeast and bacteria.  We are attempting to isolate and genetically engineer these organisms in hopes of creating a "designer kombucha".  This was our 2016 iGEM team project and is still active.
 +
6.  Broad Host Range Plasmid Kit - This is a relatively new project that is part of our 2017 iGEM team project.  This project emerged as a potential answer to some of our earlier difficulties working with "non-model" bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, the bacteria in Kombucha and many other bacteria.
  
  

Revision as of 13:50, 4 September 2017

Contents

Welcome to the Microbe Hackers!

Class photo from Spring 2015, our first semester.


In this FRI stream we do research in the vast and emerging field of synthetic biology. We genetically engineer bacteria for a purpose of our choosing. To facilitate this we also study how to better engineer the microorganisms that we use and how to create better "genetic devices". Genetic devices are the DNA sequences that we create. They code for some specific function inside the cell.


Agar plate of E. coli containing different genetic devices created by the students of Microbe Hackers, including a green glowing E. coli.

Stream Research and Experiments

Want your cell to glow green instead of its boring "normal color"?

Give it a genetic device that codes for a green fluorescent protein!

Or, maybe a different color. In Microbe Hackers, you work with these genetically engineered bacteria and you engineer your own bacteria, learning the techniques that will allow you to partake in more comprehensive projects that may span not only your time in Microbe Hackers, but also the time of past and future students. Virtually every organism that you work with was created by a previous Microbe Hacker.


Want your bacteria to be "addicted" to caffeine?

Let's modify its genome and then throw in a genetic device that allows it to live off of caffeine. Previous research by our students can be found covering the creation of caffeinated coli and its use by our students in Austin and further ongoing research on applying the system to complex beverages. This work is currently being written up for submission to a scientific journal. All of the authors are either current or former Microbe Hackers.

Ongoing Research Projects

Currently, we have several active research areas: 1. Wrapping up our "Caffeinated Coli" project. 2. Chromoproteins - Creating a more "stable" set of diverse proteins that produce color. These sequences are used in many of our other projects. 3. Evolutionary Stability or "EvoStability" - Studying DNA sequence elements that are more prone to mutation, and determining these rates. This data will allow synthetic biologists and other scientists to design "more stable" DNA sequences. This is important for the field of synthetic biology. It is only tangentially related to human disease and we do not actively explore these connections. Some of this research was presented as our 2015 iGEM team project. 4. Cyanobacteria - These bacteria are photosynthetic algae. We attempt to isolate them from the amazing "UTEX" facility that collects algae from around the world. We also attempt to genetically engineer them. This is challenging for several reasons, and an active area of interest. 5. Kombucha - This is a "brewed beverage", that is made by yeast and bacteria. We are attempting to isolate and genetically engineer these organisms in hopes of creating a "designer kombucha". This was our 2016 iGEM team project and is still active. 6. Broad Host Range Plasmid Kit - This is a relatively new project that is part of our 2017 iGEM team project. This project emerged as a potential answer to some of our earlier difficulties working with "non-model" bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, the bacteria in Kombucha and many other bacteria.



For Spring 2018

  • The Lecture portion of this FRI stream should be Mondays 4pm - 5pm. This will be confirmed shortly.
  • The Lab portion of this FRI stream will be determined during the first week of class based on student schedules. You will have a 4 hour lab period that meets once a week during the first part of the course. Later, you will be able to schedule your own lab time.
  • The stream can be taken for EITHER: BIO206L or CH204 credit. NOTE: For Spring 2018 we strongly enocurage students to take the course for CH204 credit in the Spring. We are one of the streams that will be part of a new pilot program that will offer CH204 credit in Spring 2018, followed by BIO206L or CH369K/BIO377 credit in the fall. Thus, if you stay with the stream for a full year, you can cover both your CH204 and BIO206L required courses through FRI.

If you have other questions, please contact Dr. Mishler. My contact information can be found on the FRI website page that brought you here.



Fall 2017 Open House

If you are interested in hearing about these topics or some of the projects that we have in the research lab, visit us during the Fall 2017 open house or contact Dr. Mishler.

Our open house hours will be : [TO BE DETERMINED from Sept 11th to 29th]

Spring 2016 Class Photo

Class photo from Spring 2016

iGEM Competition

The 2018 iGEM team application period will open shortly for non-freshmen. Please see this call for iGEM2017. If you are a freshman, see below for info on joining the iGEM team.

The Microbe Hackers stream also feeds directly into the UT Austin iGEM team, which is led by Professor Mishler and Professor Barrick. Students who conduct research with us during the year, and especially in the summer, are able to participate in the annual project. Every fall, a handful of students are selected to represent UT Austin at this international academic event that features hundreds of teams from around the world, 90% of which are comprised solely of undergraduate conducting research in synthetic biology. Below is a photo of our 2015 team in Boston.

Here are our team pages from 2016, 2015, and 2014.

FRI students at the annual iGEM conference on synthetic biology in Boston. The students presented their research at the end of September to an international audience. The six students in the back row were Microbe Hackers in 2015, and some have continued on as mentors or researchers. The three students in front are high school students from LASA, a local Austin high school that also had an iGEM team in 2015.