Melany Jumbo, Quito, Ecuador.

PART A

Patrick Boyle’s Lecture Questions:

Assume that all of the molecular biology work you'd like to do could be automated, what sort of new biological questions would you ask, or what new types of products would you make?

We can design complex biological systems: So Create synthetic genetic circuits with multiple layers of regulation.
Also we can accelerated directed evolution: Generate massive enzyme libraries to optimize industrial processes (e.g., cellulases that degrade lignin at room temperature).
Personalized systems biology: Model metabolic interactions in real time using organs-on-a-chip with dynamically edited genomes.
Innovative products
Universal vaccines: Modular platforms that generate antigens against multiple viral variants in weeks.
Self-healing materials: Biological plastics that repair themselves using quorum sensing.

If you could make metric tons of any protein, what would you make and what positive impact could you have?

Protein	Application	Potential
Hyper-efficient Rubisco	CO2 capture in transgenic plants	Sequester 10% of global emissions, which is 5 gigantons of carbon annually.
Stable Telomerase	Safe anti-aging treatments	Extend healthy human lifespan
Human Collagenase	Tissue regeneration in burn wounds.	Reduce healing time of third-degree wounds by 75%

PART B

Which genes when transferred into E. coli will induce the production of lycopene and beta-carotene, respectively?

A: The key genes for the production of lycopene includes dxs, which encodes the enzyme 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase. This enzyme is essential in the synthesis of IPP (isopentenyl pyrophosphate) which is a lycopene precursor. Other genes like rpoS, appY and crI, also increase the production.

In the same order, I found that a set of hetelogous genes can encodes the key enzymes to transpofor from lycopene —> beta carotene, these ones are crtl and crtY.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/530

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15898075/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17115209/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24375130/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16547999/

Why do the plasmids that are transferred into the E. coli need to contain an antibiotic resistance gene?

A: Because it serves as a selection marker. In other words, with this, we can identify and select those bacteria that have incorporated the plasmid.

For example, if we put an ampicillin-resistant marker in the culture medium, a certain amount of the antibiotic is added, and when the bacteria are plated in that medium, if they grow, it means they have incorporated the plasmid because they resist and grow in the medium with the antibiotic. Those that don't have it won't grow.