Team:TMU-Tokyo

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Project Abstract

Our project's goal is creating E.coli to resolve formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a toxic substance that exists close around our lives (cf. agricultural chemicals, antiseptics in hospital, paint of building materials, etc.) and effects negatively on human body even at a relatively low concentration. Moreover, mass production of formaldehyde is done at many factories these days. So it could easily happen that formaldehyde flows out environment over its permissible amount. In fact, an over limit concentration of formaldehyde was detected from Tone River and became a hot topic in Japan (May, 2012).In these points, we make a goal to create E.coli with ability to detoxification. E.coli has a small amount of formaldehyde dehydrogenase. And this enzyme change formaldehyde to formic acid. E.coli has an enzyme too to change formic acid to hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Thesefore, we plan to overexpress these two enzymes in E.coli. The degrading process by the 2 enzymes follows the formula below.

Formaldehyde HCHO -> Formic acid HCOOH -> CO2 + H2O