Here at rEvolver, we've made it our mission to bring directed evolution to the masses. With a modular, plasmid-based toolkit for continuous in vivo directed evolution and a DIY bioreactor for automated continuous culture, protein optimisation has never been easier.
Customer
Crickey! These enzymes are truly awful! If only I had a way to improve them…
rEvolver
Boy do we have the solution for you! Have you considered improving your proteins using directed evolution?
Customer
I've thought about trying directed evolution, but I've never used it before and have no idea where to start!
rEvolver
Fear not young scientist! Here at rEvolver, we believe that evolution is a tool to be harnessed by all modern bioscientists. Just as iGEM has made genetic engineering accessible to all, we have been working on a set of tools that will bring the power of directed evolution straight to your bench.
Customer
That sounds great, but I've always heard that directed evolution is a lot of work!
rEvolver
Perhaps in the past, but with rEvolver the entire process can be performed continuously in vivo! Our scientists have designed a set of three plasmids one for targeted gene mutation, one for continuous, growth-linked selection, and a third for increasing the efficiency of mutagenesis. Our modular system allows you to simply clone your gene of interest and a matched biosensor into the rEvolver backbones, transform, and then incubate to your heart’s content!
Customer
But incubate where? Doesn't directed evolution take weeks? I don't have access to a bioreactor! I'm not made of money!
rEvolver
We gotchu fam! Our engineers have been working on a next-generation toroidal bioreactor — maximising aeration, while remaining compact enough to fit on your bench. We’ve designed the reactor to be as inexpensive and simple to build as possible, even if you don’t have much engineering experience. All you need to do is download a copy of our easy-to-follow blueprints, buy a few cheap materials, et voilà: a benchtop bioreactor for your little evolvers!
Customer
That’s nice and all, but it isn’t going to change how long my microbes take to grow… Surely this is going to take me ages!
rEvolver
We understand that, in biology, time is of the essence. That’s why we’ve optimised our genetic parts for use in Vibrio natriegens — an up-and-coming chassis for synthetic biology with doubling times of less than 10 minutes. Evolving in V. natriegens can halve your experimental time when compared with E. coli. Finally, because we want to make working with these microbes as easy as we can - we’ve used some fancy mathematics to zero in on the optimal V. natriegens media and keep your little evolvers happy.
Customer
Wow! Seems like you’ve thought of everything! I guess I’ll get to work!
rEvolver
Oh, before you go, do you fancy trying out our new, blazing-fast molecular biology toolbox? No need to open multiple windows or dozens of tabs for your DNA manipulation anymore — our new tool is easy to use and includes all of your favourite functions such as reverse complement, translation, an ORF finder, and more! It’s pretty nice to look at too!
Customer
This is amazing! Which parts of rEvolver can I start using today???
rEvolver
Work is certainly ongoing, but we’ve managed to extensively model both our MutaT7 system and continuous growth-based selection in V. natriegens as well as transform, sequence, and PCR confirm a number of core genetic constructs. During our media optimisation experiments, we identified the optimal growth media in our design space and accurately predicted its final growth rate. The bioreactor was modelled, built, and tested with its heating, stirring, pumping, and optical density / temperature recording systems all functional. While the three-plasmid system certainly still has a ways to go, we’re confident the power of evolution will be in your hands very soon.
Customer
Thanks rEvolver, you've really changed my life!
rEvolver
Don't mention it child, it's what we do.