Projects

These were the projects developed in the Summer of 2019:

Check your Bread

by The Yeast Boys

We hypothesized that a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) plasmid could be inserted into Yeast, a Eukaryotic cell. A eukaryotic cell has complex, linear chromosomal DNA, whereas a prokaryote has simple, chromosomal DNA. This experiment consisted of creating 2 types of Agar Plates, one from YPD media and the other from YPD G148 media. The Agar plates are what provided nutrients for the yeast to grow on. Next, the DNA had to be made competent so the DNA can accept foreign protein. Finally, the GFP plasmid has to be inserted and the plate had to incubate for 1-3 days. Our Yeast ended up not growing, which we believe was due to our lab materials being stored in unacceptable conditions.

alGlo

by The Alguys

The cell wall present in plant cells consists of a rigid layer of mostly cellulose, and its main function is to prevent the cell from lysing when exposed to a hyper or hypotonic environment. This extra layer of protection makes the genetic manipulation of microalgae more complex than that of bacterial cells like E Coli. Many methods have been developed to combat this problem, such as the use of carbon nanotubes and electroporation of protoplasts, however due to lack of materials and access to high-tech machines, we were forced to use heat shock as our method for introducing the plasmid into the microalgae. Because heat shock is mainly used for transforming bacterial cells that lack cell walls, it is seldom used on microalgal cells. We decided to degrade the cell wall of Chlorella vulgaris with the enzyme lysozyme and then heat shock the cells to, hopefully, take in a yeast GFP plasmid vector.

Luminescent Banana Smelling Bacteria

Natalie, Heidy, and Avyay

E. Coli is a naturally stinky bacteria. It is tough to work with in labs because of this reason, often permeating the entire lab with its smell. Changing its smell to banana will turn this problem into a pleasure. Bioluminescence is useful for another, completely different reason. It can be used to track bacteria after transformation and see which ones received a plasmid and which did not. When combined, the bacteria would be more pleasant to work with and the transformed bacteria could be tracked.

pDusk and pDawn:

by The KEW Lights

The project tests how RFP production in pDusk and pDawn transformed E. Coli is affected by varying light intensities. The light intensities are generated by a 3D-printed device that secures a petri dish above blue or white LED arrays, programmed to different light intensities. By plating both strains of bacteria and placing them in the light devices to incubate, we compared the results and calculated the RFP output using an app called ImageJ.

Globiotics

by Ellie, Nicholas, and Samantha

Inspired by Jelly Drops, a visually and texturally appealing gummy water drop that encourages dementia patients to consume them and stay hydrated, the Pro Glo Team decided to try and create probiotics that glow in the dark to remind people to take them before bed.

Rock, Paper, Crispy

by The Crispy Ladies

In our experiment, we used the CRISPR Cas9 protein and banana plasmid. We tested the ability of the CRISPR Cas9 protein to provide resistance to streptomycin, an antibiotic with antibacterial activity. The bacteria E. Coli will die on streptomycin without CRISPR because streptomycin prevents the synthesis of proteins. However, CRISPR Cas9 has a point mutation in rspl, a ribosomal subunit that allows the E.Coli to grow on streptomycin. In our first round of the experiment, one colony grew on the CRISPR and without CRISPR LB Strep/Kan/Arab Agar plates. This suggests that a form of contamination or mutation occurred on the plate without CRISPR. During the second round of the experiment, our group let the four original plates incubate for another 48 hours. Additionally, we divided a new plate in half and used the two single colonies from round one on each side. The side with the CRISPR developed numerous colonies, while there was no bacteria growth on the other side. The round 2 results were exactly as predicted with the CRISPR bacteria growing on the streptomycin and the regular bacteria not growing. Finally, we inserted a banana smelling plasmid into our CRISPR bacteria to cover up the original scent of the E. Coli. To do this, we grew CRISPR bacteria with the banana plasmid on a LB Strep/Kan/Arab Agar plate. However, since we did not add isoamyl alcohol the plate did not smell like bananas. Thus, our group plated the CRISPR bacteria with the banana plasmid onto the previous LB Strep/Kan/Arab Agar plates.