katE

Visualising Stress

katE - Visualising Stress explores how genetic engineering and synthetic biology enable artists to reveal and visualise invisible biological processes. This project began by growing unusually large bacterial colonies and asking: Can biological states, such as stress from food depletion, be captured and visualised? Using synthetic biology techniques, this work aimed at extracting a genetic switch involved in stress regulation from the E.coli genome and engineered a new genetic device to report stress through colour, using Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP).

Howard Boland, 'katE', 2010 – Disks dipped in varying concentrations of hydrogen peroxide demonstrate how bacterial colonies respond under stress conditions.

Art in Laboratory

Visualising Stress

The artwork was developed as part of an immersive laboratory practice undertaken by the artist who relied on evidence-based art practices where the methods used produce the work required scientific approaches in particular those related to genetic engineering and synthetic biology. Through a series of questions the work tried to unravel some of the genetic foundations for biological stress but took this further by actually engineering genetic circuits to visualise these processes. The work offers a way of seeing stress through colour.

Howard Boland, 'katE', 2010 - a plate rich on food in the center and poor around the edges - a colony grows into a fractal pattern in search for food.

A Scientific Process: Amplification and Expression

Deep Dive Into Genetic Engineering

Using PubMed’s sequence viewer, I identified the intergenic region containing the katE promoter. I designed primers to amplify this DNA segment, ensuring compatibility with plasmid insertion sites using NEBCutter. The amplified sequences were integrated into plasmids carrying GFP, but early results showed low expression due to plasmid limitations. To address this, I re-engineered the system by combining high-copy plasmids with synthetic biology toolkits, significantly improving GFP visibility. This meticulous process highlights the intersection of rigorous scientific techniques and artistic goals.

Running and Extracting DNA Material Using Electrophoresis

Endless Cycle: Growing and Harvesting Genetic Material in Bottles of Media – A visual representation of the continuous process of cultivating and extracting genetic material, essential for genetic engineering experiments.

Gel Imaging and Analysis – Visualizing and interpreting DNA fragments through gel electrophoresis, a crucial step in verifying genetic constructs and experimental results.

Colony Identified as a Potential Candidate – Highlighting a bacterial colony selected for its suitability in genetic engineering experiments, marking a critical step in the screening process.

Allowing the Colony to Grow – The selected bacterial colony is cultivated into a large, vibrant growth, showcasing its development and readiness for further experimentation or display.

Making Visible the Invisible

Biological Processes Revealed

katE is exhibited in petri dishes or liquid cultures, where bacteria grow into vibrant, iridescent colonies that reveal their agitation and stress responses over time. These living artworks evolve dynamically, creating a shifting, real-time visualisation of microbial stress. The iridescent colours emerge as the bacteria respond to environmental changes, offering an ever-changing aesthetic experience. By combining scientific precision with artistic expression, katE transforms an invisible biological process into a vivid and tangible representation of bacterial life.