The DyeStuff Factory - Ryerson_Toronto iGEM 2016

Here at Ryerson, innovative solutions to real-world problems are our specialty. One of the coolest problem-solving chemicals we know of are dyes, because they have such an awesome range of applications. The goal of our project is to make microscopic factories, to create lots of dyes! In this case, the dye of interest is heme, which you may have heard in the word "hemoglobin" (which you find in your blood), as heme is a constituent of hemoglobin. By now, you must be wondering what we mean by "microscopic factories". We are saying that we are going to turn colonies of cyanobacteria into dye-excreting microorganisms! Thats right, our genetically modified cyanobacteria will create lots and lots of heme. Learn more about dyes, cell factories, cyanobacteria, and the rest of our project below.