Overview

Part 1 - Tele-Experiment Homework

In this part of the assignment we want ot characterize lycopene production in an E.coli strain containing the pAC-LYC plasmid and beta-carotene production in an E.coli strain containing the the pAC-BETAipi plasmid.

Both, lycopene and beta-carotenes are pigments (red and orange respectively) are derived from farnesyl diphosphate (FPP), which originates from the sugar metabolism.

To convert FPP to lycopene (and later carotenes), three enzymatic steps are necessary:

1. Conversion of FPP to Geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) by the geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthetase

2. Conversion of GGPP to Phytoene by the phytoene synthetase

3. Conversion of Phytoene to lycopene by the lycopene-beta-cyclase

Lycopene can be then converted to beta-carotene by the lycopene-cyclase, and beta-carotene in turn can be converted to Zeaxanthin, the yellow pigment in zea mays, through the beta-carotene-hydroxylase.

Objective

Design and run an experiment to understand how different factors influence bioproduction

The available factors are genes (pAC-LYC, pAC-BETA), media (LB, 2YT), concentration of precursor (fructose), temperature, and shaking. Please follow the steps below to execute the homework:

• A) Design the experiment
• B) Create the code for the tele-experiment on the robot
• C) Run the simulation to make sure that there is no syntax error
• D) Schedule a time with Pat for running the code on the robot!