Graduate Students Mini Symposium V - 2023
Graduate Students Mini-Symposium
- Date: Jun 12, 2023
- Time: 01:15 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Location: MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology
- Room: Lecture Hall / Hybrid
- Host: IMPRS
- Contact: imprs@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
Program
13:15 h Imre Banlaki - ENG Niederholtmeyer
A
cell-free trigger wave in two dimensional cell-mimic arrays
Intercellular communication is a
fundamental function in biology to organize cooperation. Diffusive signals are
used by unicellular and multicellular organisms to synchronize behavior or even
govern differentiation. The latter case is of particular interest as it
requires complex systems, generally including multiple diffusing signals.
Cell-free synthetic biology allows to build such model systems and investigate
their functionality in a well-controlled environment. In vitro transcription
and translation (TXTL) was used to investigate communication in two dimensions,
in batch reactions, and one dimension at steady state. My work expands on previous
systems, combining the two-dimensionality of the batch experiments with the
continuous perfusion of the one-dimensional system. The presented microfluidic
device vertically perfuses a 2D array of DNA loaded cell-mimics through a
diffusive hydrogel barrier. This barrier protects the cell-mimics from flow
perturbations which allows for the expression of a trigger wave, activated by
reaction diffusion, expanding against the perfusion flow.
13:45 h Stijn Tobias de Vries - DNA Foundry (Schindler)
14:15 h Paulo Alexandrino - AG Erb
Exploring the potential of non-model organisms as sources of enzyme candidates for novel metabolic pathways
Bioretrosynthetic analysis is a powerful tool for designing innovative metabolic pathways, as evidenced by the development of the CETCH cycle. Despite the success in automating this process, computer-assisted bioretrosynthesis often generates a surplus of impractical pathways due to a scarcity of enzyme candidates for hypothetical reactions. To tackle this issue, the forthcoming Mini-Symposium will concentrate on a cheminformatics method that facilitates the screening of promiscuous enzyme activities for alternative applications.