Datasheets

The BIOFAB's first datasheet (shown below) communicates information about three previously uncharacterized promoters that we obtained from the MIT Registry of Standard Biological Parts (link). In the top right corner of the datasheet, we include a symbol in order to visually communicate that the measured objects are promoters. The symbol is a part of a first-generation standard language called SBOL (Synthetic Biology Open Language), which is being developed by the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group (link). In the center of the datasheet, we provide information about the levels and variability of green fluorescent protein expression when driven by these three promoters on identical vectors, in the same strain. We report our measurements of activity levels in relative promoter units (RPUs) so that our results may be more reliably compared to those made by other researchers in other laboratories (Kelly et. al., 2009). Finally, we provide information about the measurement context, instruments used, and statistics for cytometry measurements in the bottom panel of the datasheet.

We will use datasheets in order to formally capture and share information about the parts that we characterize (Canton et. al., 2008). However, we acknowledge that the synthetic biology community has not yet developed a theory of what the minimal information about a part should be (Arkin, 2008). We also recognize that part behavior can be measured in many different contexts and that a wide range of instruments can be used in order obtain different degrees of measurement precision. With these points in mind, the context and instruments for used for part characterization should be chosen based upon the needs of the users of the information. The blunt measurment of green flourescent protein expression reported on our first datasheet may meet the needs of some users. Other users may require precise quantification of gene expression parameters. We hope that all users, ranging from theoretical biologists to college students, will help us to define what a quality measurment means to them. This undertstanding of quality will drive the build-out of our operational capacities.