Results

Our Results

The team successfully added SmPAL, ScCCL, and AtCCR into E. coli cells. All three gene sequences were codon optimized for use in E. coli. Also, we successfully added the stop codon on the three genes in the E. coli cells. This progress paved the way for us to express the genes in the E. coli cells and produce the enzymes that work in the phenylalanine-to-cinnamaldehyde pathway. Our team has put the parts into the registry and had a written procedure on the experiment page of our wiki so that if people want to replicate the experiment, they have the information to do so.

We have been working on adding the promoters to the genes we previously added into the E. coli cells. We went through the experimental cycle, including digestion, ligation, transformation, pick colonies, plasmid preparation, PCR confirmation, and gel electrophoresis several times and such processes require a lot of time investment. Due to limitations in funding and equipment, we do not have the kits that can allow the process to go faster. We have tried identifying the problems and adjusting our procedures and experimental design. Still, it is pretty frustrating that we are not quite seeing things working as we are expecting. We are, and we will continue working on the wet lab part of our project, carrying great hope to see some progress.