The iGEM Marburg proudly presents: PHAECTORY

The use of proteins in medical treatment and diagnosis is steadily increasing. Many of these proteins (e.g. antibodies) have a complex biological structure, which complicates their production. Also, these proteins need to be highly pure. Therefore, a major challenge is the development of systems that produce complex proteins with high purity - best at low costs!

The sunlight-driven microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum has been established for the production of complex proteins. A major - however yet unchallenged - advantage of the algae is its ability to secrete proteins directly into the medium. This feature would greatly simplify purification of recombinant proteins! Here we take advantage of the excellent secretion and ability of posttranslational modification and make the system accessible to following iGEM teams (PHAECTORY).

Furthermore, we characterized a light-inducible promoter, which can be used to control protein expression in PHAECTORY (Light control). Also, we introduced a transplantable element to the registry, which allows autonomous targeting of BioBricks to cell membranes (Improve a Brick). We hope you enjoy reading about our projects!

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