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Project descriptions
From 2012hs.igem.org
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AMERICAS
Team BioscienceDragons_AZ
Exploring new alternative energy sources in modern society has become a high priority in scientific research. The recent increases in energy costs have inspired and pushed scientists and engineers to continue to search for more efficient ways of powering our future. We plan to explore the field of synthetic biology to search for new sustainable methods of renewable energy production. Our approach involves using the protein Proterohodospin to test whether or not light can be a viable method for fuel production. Proterohodopsin(PR), used by cells when deprived of oxygen, exhibits the process, similar to photosynthesis, that converts ultraviolet light to an alternative energy source for the production of ATP to power the cell. One application of the PR protein is to use it on cells that produce ethanol/butanol and change their original food source to light to produce biofuel that can be used. Our approach is to alter the genetic structure of E.coli, using our understanding of synthetic biology, to mimic the cells that produces the ethanol/butanol and express the PR protein by using Azide to stop the cells from consuming oxygen, thereby forcing the cell to use light as a food source. The goal of our research is to create a "BioPanel" that will use the PR induced cells to produce ethanol/butanol that can be tested later for feasibility and future commercial applications. The success of this research will suggest whether or not using light to create fuel is a viable alternative energy source for the future.
Team BioToga_NY
Team BioToga is going to design a biobrick "Multimeter." Our multimeter will combine various biobricks into one design. We want to develop a biobrick that can test for the presence of water contaminants such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic. Each contaminant will express a different fluorescent protein, such as BFP, GFP, RFP, and OFP. Our goal is to develop a multimeter that can test for 3 contaminants, with a stretch goal to test 4 contaminants. Note: Two days after coming up with our idea, we did find that University of Seoul already did a similar project [1], but as best we can tell this project wasn't done using biobricks, so our hope is to build off of U Seoul's work, but make our project by combining mostly existing biobricks.
Team BVCAPS_Kansas
Current the Bioscience class is still debating what our project should be about. We have done research on other iGem projects from the past to help us get an idea of what other iGem projects are about and what other teams have done. In class we have been working on increasing our knowlege of biology especially dealing with DNA and the processes invloved with DNA. Corn syrup is metabolized into high-fructose corn syrup by means of members of the bacteria genus bacilius. Since corn syrup is obviously of considerable commercial value, we are considering using promoters to either decrease the metabolizing time or to add desirable traits (maybe vitamins) to the high-fructose corn syrup.
Team BVCAPS_Research_KS
Our project, in essence, designs the perfect alarm clock. The presence of a strong wintergreen smell is used to help the user wake up, heightening their senses. At night, when no light is present, a banana odor produced will assist in calming down the user, helping them go to bed. This all occurs in the absence of electricity through pure biological systems. This system is the combination of the MIT and University of Texas teams' projects from years past. We are making a combined genetic circuit with the smell of the bacteria (banana or mint) depending on the time of day (presence of light). The light receptor protein, obtained from photosynthetic algae, turns the banana smell on in the absence of light, and the mint smell on in the presence of light.
Team CIDEB-UANL_Mexico
The detection of various components in a safe and rapid way has been a challenge in modern science. Biosensors using genetic circuits in bacteria have been made, which allow knowing whether the sensed component is present or not. Nowadays it is known that certain levels of heavy metals on water can be dangerous for living organisms. For that reason it is important to know the concentration of these metals, but the techniques for detection and quantification are complex and require expensive equipment. The aim of this project is to make a study model for quantifying heavy metals with fluorescent colors depending on their levels of concentration. In order to do so, a biosensor based on three different fluorescent reporters will be built. Additionally, this design could be improved in order to achieve higher sensitivity by adding more modules to the circuit. This genetic circuit could be applied for building biosensors to detect the presence of heavy metals and semi-quantify them. This design will recognize the component that it is meant to be analyzed and give an approximation of the quantity. According to that, it can be useful to know if the concentration is toxic for living organisms.
Team Evansville_Central
Our project is focusing on the incomplete metabolism of casein and gluten in the human digestive tract. Individuals with dairy intolerance are unable to consume foods containing milk or any milk product that contains casein. Individuals with gluten intolerance are unable to consume foods containing gluten such as wheat/flour products. Our goal is to research the isolation of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 gene and create a BioBrick which will eventually produce a protein that will aid in the digestion of gluten and casein invitro.
Team GreenfieldCentral_IN
Our first project deals with Galactosemia. Galactosemia is a disease in which an afflicted person cannot break down galactose, a simple sugar found in many food items such as milk. Classic galactosemic individuals cannot effectively produce the enzyme GALT, which is needed to catalyze the breakdown of galactose. Galactose build-up can lead to many debilitating conditions, such as ataxia, liver failure, and learning disabilities. Our goal for this project is to create a blood-galactose monitor to help galactosemic patients monitor their condition. This is needed because current blood sugar monitors only detect both sugars together, which does not help galactosemic people. We are planning on creating a strain of yeast that can detect galatose and glucose separately in the bloodstream. We are planning on using the promoters Gal1/10 to detect galactose, and HXT1 to detect glucose. Then we are going to use the mCherry fluorescent protein and cyan fluorescent protein to indicate the concentration of both sugars. Once we assemble our plasmid and transform it into E. coli to amp up DNA concentration, we will then transform it into yeast. We are also going to characterize the promoters by testing the fluorescence when introduced with different sugar concentrations. This will help standardize the test and make it easier to use. This project will hopefully be a simple test for galactosemics to monitor the status of their condition. Our second project focuses on the disease in fish called Mycobacterium Marinum. Mycobacterium is a strain of tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Marinum kills large masses of fish, mainly in aquariums, and is currently undetectable. This disease also affects humans; if a human has an open sore and comes in contact with the contaminated water, the human will then be a carrier of mycobacterium Marinum and could possibly infect other aquariums. Our project is to find the structure of Mycobacterium Marinum and have E. coli target mycolic acid, mycobacterium's defense mechanism to current vaccines and antibiotics. When our engineered E. coli detects the mycolic acid on the cell wall of the mycobacterium, the green fluorescent protein gene we will insert into the plasmid will indicate that disease is present in the aquarium. If this step is successful, then we will take the project one step further. We will attempt to engineer E. coli to target an enzyme on the cell wall of Mycobacterium and have it release the mycolic acid so the mycobacterium will become defenseless to current treatments. In the broad view, if we are able to detect Mycobacterium through the use of fluorescent proteins, then the actual test for tuberculosis today could be simplified and made cheaper compared to the current process. A blood sample would be taken from the patient, and exposed to our E. coli. A spectrophotometer would then calculate the fluorescent levels of the sample, and determine if the patient has tuberculosis.
Team Hewitt-Trussville
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has declared numerous companies to be in violation of runoff waste laws. Alabama Rivers are affected by high levels of phosphate, which influence the diverse ecosystems inhabited on the rivers, which include 118 species of snails in the Cahaba. There are four that are endangered or threatened. They include the Cylindrical Lioplax, Flat Pebble Snail, Rock Snail, and the Round Rock Snail. (Nijhuis, 2011) Our group is constructing a biobrick that will transform into yeast for ready use. An inverter, Pho5 promoter, and red flourescent protein will be combined and then inserted into the plasmid backbone. We are utilizing the natural pathway that yeast has to perform for survival. Just as the biological function of the Pho5 pathway secretes different levels of phosphate into the cell based on environmental levels, the RFP works within that pathway to visually show the different levels of phosphate by glowing red. Throughout the production of the Pho5 Plasmid lab procedures including: Biobrick assembly, Gibson assembly, Polymerase Chain Reaction, electrophoresis, and transformation were used.
