New design for a DIY mini bioreactor from David Jordan in Cambridge - with accurate temperature control, gas composition monitoring, illumination, and pumps for feed and waste - ready for reactor networked arrays. Full details at: (notes.livingphysics.org/build_posts/...)

Ever had issues with contamination in #Marchantia or #liverwort tissue culture? We've developed a protocol that is simple and low-effort (albeit slow) to get rid of fungi and bacteria: dx.doi.org/10.17504/pro.... Work led by Isaac Coven and supported by Chetan Pandey, myself & @dromius.bsky.social.

DIY guide for building specialised hardware on the back of a M5Stack Tab5 device (Carsen Groen, bouncing radio signals off the moon! - building a custom wide range dual RF sensor) moonbounce.dk/hamradio/dua...

The Tab5 and M5Stack modules share a common bus - so many kinds of modules can be plugged in to the touchscreen device, and UiFlow2 provides built-in no-code (Blockly) and Micropython support. Neat engineering, and eases the programming transition for biologists... biomaker.org/hardware

Using the M5Stack Tab5 device to prototype touchscreen control and display for a new AirFlowPCR device. M5Stack offer a plug-in dual thermocouple reader for monitoring temperatures. No-code programming and cost-effective. biomaker.org/airflow-pcr

Different sets of 3D printable test tube racks for Eppendorf, 15mL Falcon and 50mL Falcon tubes - useful point of reference with nice clean designs (from uranium235) makerworld.com/en/collectio...

First installment of a project to build a cheap and compact PCR device based on a 12V air heater module and switched air flow. biomaker.org/airflow-pcr

Excited to share this story in its final form, now published in ACS Synthetic Biology. #PlantBiology #Synbio pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Engineering Auronidin Production in Marchantia polymorpha Enables a New Class of Plant-Derived Textile Pigments

Plant-derived pigments offer sustainable alternatives to synthetic colorants, yet their practical deployment in textiles is limited by restricted chemical diversity and low abundance. Liverworts represent a source of diverse chemical compounds, and the model liverworts Marchantia polymorpha are emerging as chassis for bioengineering and synthetic biology. Here, we report the biotechnological application of auronidins, a rare class of flavonoid pigments, as textile dyes. Using M. polymorpha, we engineered enhanced auronidin production through controlled expression of the R2R3-MYB transcription factor MpMYB14. We systematically benchmarked constitutive and inducible gene expression systems, including heat-shock, glucocorticoid receptor, and β-estradiol (XVE) circuits, identifying inducible strategies that decouple biomass accumulation from secondary metabolite production while achieving high pigment yields. Extracted auronidins were used to dye cotton yarn directly, demonstrating the feasibility of auronidins for textile dyeing. Our results establish M. polymorpha as a versatile plant chassis for programmable secondary metabolite production and introduce auronidins as a promising natural pigment platform for sustainable textile biotechnology.

pubs.acs.org

Facundo Romani@fromani.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Marchantia might seem an unlikely biotech crop, but it’s worth trying. In Aurore’s thesis, we pushed this concept by engineering the auronidins with MpMYB14 and using the pigments to dye cotton. It ended up giving a very unique and beautiful product. #PlantScience www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Nice design for long term solar-powered environmental monitoring with M5Stack hardware, flexible sensors, comms and AI analysis. PETG printed Stevenson shield. www.hackster.io/redknario/qu...

Design for a small 3D printed laminar flow unit that couples two 120mm computer fans to a cheap IKEA “uppåtvind” airfilter - shroud and floor could be added for sterile tissue culture work www.printables.com/model/149072...

Nice review preprint with a comparison of particle vs. continuum methods for computer modelling of molecular and cellular scale interactions. arxiv.org/pdf/2604.138...

An explanation of the split-flow NFT scheme that I've been using for Marchantia propagation - likely helpful for other bryophyte plants - and maybe adapted for seedlings, etc. if a more porous surface mat is used. Info and assembly instructions at: marchantia.org/spilt-nft

...and matching info about assembly pneumatic systems at: blog.rahix.de/pneumatics/

Lots of useful tips for better design of 3D prints - very useful long read for DIYers at blog.rahix.de/design-for-3...

Backpack modification to an M5Stack Tab5 - shows what's possible for this flexible device. In this case it is extended hardware and software for probing wireless networks - but the idea would also work for bioinstrumentation. From github.com/C5Lab/M5Mons...

Super Breadboard 2 for electronics prototyping with short circuit protection, accessory components and separation of input and output signals. From 8bitflux.com

Instructions for how to build a low-cost Raman spectrometer with lots of background information about using 3D printing to integrate electro-optical components, including a surplus B&W TEK spectrometer. From Jacob Busshart at github.com/jacobbusshar...

Rapid prototyping of an app using the M5Stack Tab5 with external sensor and custom touchscreen interface using UiFlow - this project using Micropython mainly, but similar to our plans at Biomaker.org - where no-code Blockly also figures. www.hackster.io/vsupacha/exp...

CryoSnap is an all-in-one thermoelectric (Peltier) development board that lets one rapidly assemble, power, and control a complete thermal system, then break it apart to stack directly into your design. Has impressive specs for precise temperature control. (cryosnap.sheetak.com)

Interesting design for a PicoLaser Engraver project on Kickstarter. Could be interesting for micro-machining or tissue ablation for biology. www.kickstarter.com/projects/tho...

DIY instructions for building an air purifier with 250mm extractor fan and HEPA filters - info could be useful for laminar flow or plant tissue culture culture cabinet design. makerworld.com/en/models/27... From Magmabow makerworld.com/en/@Magmabow

Description of how to build a micro-still for distilling from 25mL flask. With some neat tips for DIY temperature control and small-scale chemistry: youtu.be/PUDvvB-0ALw?... From Marb's Lab www.youtube.com/@Marbslab

Instructions have full assembly details including custom 3D files and details of sources for off-the-shelf components. Also details of background trials at marchantia.org

Also I've pulled together details of the low-cost LED lighting systems that have been integrated into the three different self-contained grow-pods. Might be useful for other plant and algal growing systems. Can be found at Marchantia.org

Marchantia plants grown on a large Super-NFT grow-pod using micro-perforated plastic film to supress algal growth, while rhizoids penetrate the support membrane and feed off nutrients flowing below. Grow healthily for months on a tabletop for spore production (marchantia.org)

There are three different size systems (mini, midi, super) to cope with different scales, up to about a kilogram of fresh weight of liverwort per tray for the super size. Can take plants through the entire life cycle - great for plant spore production.

I finished the next batch of instructions for DIY construction of 'grow-pods' for simple and improved hydroponic cultivation of Marchantia liverwort plants - needing to adjust for their lack root systems, so using specialised trays and membranes for fast growth (marchantia.org)

Glad to see Anna's final PhD paper as a pre-print. Marchantia as a bioproduction chassis not only for markers but also for useful proteins. #PlantScience #SynBio www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Marchantia polymorpha as a simple platform for plant-based production of functional nanobodies

Recombinant proteins have transformative potential in biomedicine, but their production is often costly and carries contamination risks. Plants offer an attractive alternative, with low growth costs a...

biorxiv.org

Happy to share some of the auxin Marchantia research we've been working on for a while with @fromani.bsky.social and @jimhaseloff.bsky.social. We confirm long standing suspicions that stem cells in Marchantia exist in an auxin concentration/signalling minimum, and potentially a cytokinin maximum.

Marchantia stem cell maintenance and re-establishment are controlled by MpPIN1-mediated auxin transport and ARF signalling

Meristem organization in land plants depends on coordinated auxin distribution, transport and response, yet how these processes are integrated during vegetative growth of the gametophyte of non-seed p...

biorxiv.org

Instructions for building the latest Mini-NFT hydroponics system for Marchantia. USB powered pod with self-contained media circulation and LED lighting. Based on GN1/6 kitchen vessel. Larger scale DIY hydroponic systems on the way. https://marchantia.org/mini-nft-hydroponics