Poster/Presentation Script

1.) Tulip Intro

Hi everyone! I am Lauren Lopez, and I am currently an undergraduate student at Sam Houston State University.

• Today I will be presenting a tool we’ve been developing called TULIP, short for Tunable Ligand Inducible Plasmid.

• This system gives us the ability to control how much DNA is present in engineered constructs—-essentially letting us dial gene expression up or down.

This has big implications for biotechnology, biomanufacturing and especially for driven needs like on-demand production of medicines, materials, and food.

2.) Problems with Traditional Plasmids

In synthetic biology, we often use circular pieces of DNA called plasmids to program bacteria.

• These plasmids tell the cell what to make/do.

But here’s the issue: most plasmids come with a fixed number of copies per cell, dictated by their “origin of replication.” That means we’re stuck with either too little expression or too much—-neither of which is ideal for fine-tuned control or industrial consistency.

3.) A Tunable Solution

To solve this, we developed TULIP, a plasmid system that lets us adjust the number of DNA copies inside the cell.

TULIP is built on a specialized bacterial origin which was modified to include two important components:

1. RepAv7: a mutant protein that helps replicate the plasmid

2. CymRAM: a repressor protein that keeps RepAv7 in check unless triggered

The trigger? A molecule called cuminic acid. When added, it lifts the repression and allows plasmid numbers to increase - on demand.

4.) Visual of TULIP Circuit

Here’s how it works:

• Without chemical signal/WT, the system stays quiet—-low plasmid levels

• Add cuminic acid, and it flips the switch, increasing plasmid production

This means we can control gene expression just by adding a molecule to the cultures—no need to re-engineer anything.

5.) Embedding TULIP into SHARP

To make this system more modular and shareable, we integrated it into something called SHARP—-a toolkit for assembling DNA parts rapidly and reliably.

We packaged TULIP components—-like the RepAv7 module, the Tulip origin, and supporting elements (such as mCherry, ConE, ConS)—-into SHARP-compatible pieces. This lets researchers mix and match TULIP with other biological tools easily.

SHARP

Synthetic Hierarchical Assembly for Rapid Prototyping

6.) Testing with Fluorescent Reporter (mCherry)

To track TULIP’s performance, we included a red fluorescent protein called mCherry.

• The brighter the red glow, the more plasmids—and the stronger the gene expression

We ensured our DNA constructs were correctly built by performing sequencing on selected colonies.

• We also used qPCR, a DNA quantification method, to precisely measure plasmid levels

7.) What We Expect to See

So what should happen?

• Sequencing results will verify that the observed changes are due to the engineered design—-NOT random mutation.

• qPCR data should confirm an increase in plasmid copies

• Bacteria with functional TULIP should glow red due to mCherry

• When we add cuminic acid, we expect that glow to intensify

8.) Why It Matters for the Army?

TULIP has real-world value, especially for the Army’s biomanufacturing goals.

This means:

• Field-ready microbes that can make essential materials on demand.

• Robust, predictable biological models that strengthen supply chain resilience and operational readiness

TULIP is a step toward scalable, controllable, and mission-ready synthetic biological systems.

9.) Summery & Future Outlook

To summarize:

• TULIP gives us a switch to control gene expression by tuning plasmid copy number

• It’s modular, predictable, and compatible with synthetic biology frameworks like SHARP

• It supports both research and industrial applications, including on-demand bioproduction

Our next steps include scaling up TULIP for biomanufacturing, testing it with more complex biosynthetic pathways, and different concentrations of a target molecule such as cuminic acid.

10.) Thank you/Q&A

Thank you for your time. I’m happy to take any questions!