Team:Sharon MA Aquila

From 2012hs.igem.org

(Difference between revisions)

Latest revision as of 18:32, 12 April 2012

The purpose of our project is to insert antifreeze protein (AFP) into yogurt cultures. Milk is converted to yogurt using Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus bacteria. These cultures ferment the lactose sugar present in the milk and convert it to lactic acid, which gives yogurt its distinctive taste and texture.

AFP is a protein produced by plants, fungi, bacteria, and some vertebrates to prevent the formation of dangerous ice crystals at subzero temperatures. AFP is about 300 times more effective than industrially produced antifreezes at the same concentration, so it have many possible commercial applications, including cryosurgery, hypothermia treatment, and farm fish production. Some companies have also started isolating AFPs from fish and introducing them into milk and yogurt products. The protein could help prevent freezer burn and improve the texture of the yogurt (frozen or otherwise).

Our project will instead introduce the AFP-producing gene directly into the Lactobacillus bulgaricus bacteria, so that it is constantly produced as the bacteria metabolizes lactose. Hooking up production of the protein to the lactose sensor already present in the bacteria would allow continuous production of the protein. Since transplantation of a small quantity of yogurt cultures can be used to produce another batch of yogurt, our altered bacteria would easily be able to replicate and produce AFP in new batches. <forum_subtle />

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-{|align="justify"
+{{Aquila}}
-|You can write a background of your team here.  Give us a background of your team, the members, etc.  Or tell us more about something of your choosing.
+The purpose of our project is to insert antifreeze protein (AFP) into yogurt cultures.  Milk is converted to yogurt using  ''Lactobacillus delbrueckii'' subsp. ''bulgaricus'' and ''Streptococcus salivarius'' subsp. ''thermophilus'' bacteria.  These cultures ferment the lactose sugar present in the milk and convert it to lactic acid, which gives yogurt its distinctive taste and texture.
-|[[Image:Sharon_MA_Aquila_logo.png|200px|right|frame]]
-|-
-|
-''Tell us more about your project.  Give us background.  Use this as the abstract of your project.  Be descriptive but concise (1-2 paragraphs)''
-|[[Image:Sharon_MA_Aquila_team.png|right|frame|Your team picture]]
-|-
-|
-|align="center"|[[Team:Sharon_MA_Aquila | Team Sharon_MA_Aquila]]
-|}
-<!--- Team Information Link --->
+AFP is a protein produced by plants, fungi, bacteria, and some vertebrates to prevent the formation of dangerous ice crystals at subzero temperatures. AFP is about 300 times more effective than industrially produced antifreezes at the same concentration, so it have many possible commercial applications, including cryosurgery, hypothermia treatment, and farm fish production.  Some companies have also started isolating AFPs from fish and introducing them into milk and yogurt products.  The protein could help prevent freezer burn and improve the texture of the yogurt (frozen or otherwise).
-{| style="color:#1b2c8a;background-color:#0c6;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="1" bordercolor="#fff" width="62%" align="center"
+Our project will instead introduce the AFP-producing gene directly into the ''Lactobacillus bulgaricus'' bacteria, so that it is constantly produced as the bacteria metabolizes lactose.  Hooking up production of the protein to the lactose sensor already present in the bacteria would allow continuous production of the protein.  Since transplantation of a small quantity of yogurt cultures can be used to produce another batch of yogurt, our altered bacteria would easily be able to replicate and produce AFP in new batches.
-!align="center"|[https://igem.org/Team.cgi?year=2012&division=high_school&team_name=Sharon_MA_Aquila Official Team Profile]
+<forum_subtle />
-|}
-===Team===
-We are a group of students from Sharon High School in Sharon, Massachusetts that love biology.
-Hannah Binney
+<!------------------------SOCIAL MEDIA DIV-------------------------------------------------------------------->
-Frank Zhou
+<html>
-George Rakushkin
+	<div  style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; margin-left: 175px;background-color: transparent;">
-Rachel Fyler
+<g:plusone size="medium"></g:plusone>
-Brahm Gardner
+                 <script type="text/javascript">
-Gabby Crosby
+                   (function() {
-Nancy Chinnapan
+                     var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true;
-Peter Jiang
+                     po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js';
+                     var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);
+                   })();
-===Project===
+                 </script>
-The purpose of our project is to insert antifreeze protein (AFP) into yogurt cultures.  Milk is converted to yogurt using  ''Lactobacillus delbrueckii'' subsp. ''bulgaricus'' and "Streptococcus salivarius" subsp. "thermophilus" bacteria.  These cultures ferment the lactose sugar present in the milk and convert it to lactic acid, which gives yogurt its distinctive taste and texture.
+	</div>
+</html>
-AFP is a protein produced by plants, fungi, bacteria, and some vertebrates to prevent the formation of dangerous ice crystals at subzero temperatures. AFP is about 300 times more effective than industrially produced antifreezes at the same concentration, so they have many possible commercial applications, including cryosurgery, hypothermia treatment, and farm fish production.  Some companies have also started isolating AFPs from fish and introducing them into milk and yogurt products.
-===Notebook===
-Show us how you spent your days.
-===Results/Conclusions===
-What did you achieve over the course of your semester?
-===Safety===
-What safety precautions did your team take? Did you take a safety training course? Were you supervised at all times in the lab?
-===Attributions===
-Who worked on what?
-===Human Practices===
-What impact does/will your project have on the public?
-===Fun!===
-What was your favorite team snack?? Have a picture of your team mascot?
-<forum_subtle />