Bioluminescence, the ability of living organisms to produce light, is a fascinating natural phenomenon with applications in biological imaging, biosensing, and synthetic biology.

 

In this project, you will use molecular cloning and genetic engineering to reconstruct brighter versions of the naturally occurring bacterial bioluminescence system. You will create bacterial strains expressing two versions of the lux operon (a set of genes responsible for bacterial bioluminescence). Your engineered bacterial strains will become a valuable contribution to our group's research toolkit and help us develop future bioluminescence-based screens.

 

During this project you will learn:
·        In silico design of genetic constructs
·        Bacterial gene elements
·        Primer design
·        PCR
·        Electrophoresis
·        DNA purification from a gel
·        Plasmid assembly/cloning
·        E.coli cultivation/transformation
·        Plasmid purification (minipreps)
·        Restriction digestion assay
·        Interpretation of sequencing results (Sanger and Oxford Nanopore sequencing)
·        Review and analysis of relevant scientific literature
·        Good scientific practice: accurate documentation of experiments to ensure reproducibility

 

You will be able to see your genetic engineering experiments in action: using our BioLum imaging platform, you will see your modified bacteria glow!

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The project has a flexible start date and can be adjusted in scope and complexity to suit bachelor’s (15 hp) or master’s (30–60 hp) project. A bachelor’s project focuses on construct design and assembly, followed by verification of light output in plasmid-bearing strains; a master’s project also includes integrating the verified operons into the bacterial genome.

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Interested?

Contact Alyona at alena.minina@slu.se to discuss timing and how to tailor the project to you.