To expand the current synthetic biology toolbox, new mechanisms of genetic control must be discovered and assessed based on specific transcription-altering capabilities. We posit that sigma factors are precisely the tool needed for metabolic engineers to reroute cells to produce molecules of interest while being orthogonal to other transcription factors. Additionally, sigma factors permit various transcription strengths to control expression output . Sequence variations within the spacer region between the-35 and -10 sigma factor interaction sites appear to alter the specific capacity of sigma factors to bind to and initiate gene transcription. We hypothesize that the length of the spacer, or region between the -35 and -10 site, partly determines the orthogonality of sigma factors to each other and transcriptional output. By altering spacer length, we were able to produce a >45 fold increase in transcription amount, hinting at their potential as useful gene regulatory tools for synthetic biologists.
Author: Michael Anderson, Chemical Engineering Major
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jason Boock, Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering
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