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Protocol for the Standardisation of Transcriptional Measurements

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Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols

Part of the book series: Springer Protocols Handbooks ((SPH))

Abstract

A key component of the engineering approach underlying synthetic biology is the use of standardisation to enable better design of biological systems. One of the most important areas to standardise is the measurement of part, device and system activity in order to improve designs and aid sharing of data. While methods for standardising transcriptional measurements have been designed, they have suffered from poor uptake, and as more parts and systems are detailed, potentially useful information and comparison may be being lost. This protocol takes the best of the previously developed standards while adding some advice for best practice and data standardisation, designed to improve the ease with which data collected in separate labs may be shared and used. Standardisation of measurements and data has the potential to allow greater understanding of the biological systems synthetic biologists engineer and in turn lead to better tools to allow the design of larger and more complicated systems.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Jake Beal for useful discussions regarding the standardisation of flow cytometry results. We also thank EPSRC for funding and colleagues in CSynBI particularly Guy Bart-Stan and Tom Ells.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Christopher D. Hirst, Catherine Ainsworth & Richard I. Kitney

  2. Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Geoff Baldwin

  3. Department of Medicine, Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Paul S. Freemont

Authors
  1. Christopher D. Hirst
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  2. Catherine Ainsworth
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  3. Geoff Baldwin
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  4. Richard I. Kitney
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  5. Paul S. Freemont
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul S. Freemont .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Essex Dept. Biological Sciences, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom

    Terry J. McGenity

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis

  3. Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB-CSIC), Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Balbina Nogales

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hirst, C.D., Ainsworth, C., Baldwin, G., Kitney, R.I., Freemont, P.S. (2015). Protocol for the Standardisation of Transcriptional Measurements. In: McGenity, T., Timmis, K., Nogales, B. (eds) Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols . Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2015_148

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2015_148

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-50430-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-50432-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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