Team:Gaston Day School

From 2012.igem.org

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<h1>Our 2012 Project</h1>
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Gaston Day School's iGEM project for 2012 is composed of three parts.  
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Gaston Day School’s iGEM project for 2011 has two distinct but complementary parts. First, we plan to build a functional nitrate detector using RFP. Red Fluorescent Protein has one distinct advantage over the more traditional Green Fluorescent Protein; it is visible without any special equipment. Our goal is to have a detector that is easy for anyone to use in the field. Most people, including farmers and ranchers, who would need to detect nitrogen pollution will not have a pocket UV light! We envision a kit that could be used to determine if the runoff of a particular farm was high in nitrogen. The kit will include all necessary components for running the test and then decontaminating the resulting growth to prevent release of the engineered bacteria into the environment.
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The second part of our project involves a close look at the actual risks of accidental release of the engineered bacteria into the environment. Many groups, including ours, have proposed and built environmental detectors of various sorts. Often, these detectors come with sophisticated mechanisms for preventing the release or for preventing the bacteria from growing if released. We would like to include a very simple mechanism for killing or denaturing the bacteria in our detector kit – bleach. Bleach is highly effective at killing bacteria and is readily available to the average person. Even if we include the bleach in the kit, we realize that many people do not (or will not) read and follow directions. We plan to simulate a variety of conditions under which our detector could be introduced into the environment, ranging from simply dumping it in the sink to pouring it into the local creek or soil. By producing survivorship curves, we can estimate the real risk of spreading the recombinant bacteria into the environment.
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<h2>First</h2>
 
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We are further developing our Red Fluorescent Nitrate Detector from last year. We plan to continue the nitrate detector since nitrates pose a relevant problem in our community due to large farms. The Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) has a significant advantage over the standard Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP); RFP, unlike GFP, is visible with the naked eye.  This is advantageous because in most parts of the world, citizens do not carry UV light in their pocket! The detector is very simplistic. After a water sample is placed in the detector, it will fluoresce with a red color if nitrates are present. Furthermore, it will remain clear when nitrates are not present. 
 
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Currently, we have a functional prototype. However, it is not sensitive enough to be effective. Nitrate ingestion restricts hemoglobin’s ability to carry oxygen.
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Without oxygen, cyanosis often occurs in young children and babies. This is known as Methemoglobinemia, or blue baby syndrome.
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In order to increase the sensitivity of our machine, we will use a procedure presented at the 2011 iGEM competition by the University of California at Davis team. They created an innovative protocol for mutagenic PCR. More information about the team and procedure is available at <a href="https://2011.igem.org/Team:UC_Davis/Project">their 2011 project site</a>.
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Despite improvements in water quality, contaminants still interfere with farming in many of the world’s biomes. In 2012, the Gaston Day School iGEM team’s project is to help solve this problem by using the existing registry of parts to create new heavy metal detectors. We have shifted our project from last year’s nitrate detector in order to focus on cadmium, arsenic, and lead contaminants in water. These sensors are built by using multiple promoters to narrow the range of the detected heavy metals down to one or two contaminants and combined with GFP reporters to create the new part. GFP is used because our spectrophotometer can accurately measure it.
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Once the parts are created, they are tested for accuracy and sensitivity. Many farmers need a way to measure the amount of heavy metals in water to determine whether the levels are dangerous, therefore each heavy metal detector must be as sensitive as the respective federal limits in water. As the project continues, we plan to test the safety of the engineered bacteria and create survivorship curves as they are released into different environments, similar to last year’s testing. When the final kit is constructed we plan to include the heavy metal detectors and all components necessary to run, accurately measure, and safely dispose of the tests. This kit will help agricultural and environmental fields make improvements in safety.
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<h2>Second</h2>
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We also plan to create a Cadmium Sensor; the machine will use a Cadmium promoter paired with Green Fluorescent Protein. GFP will be used over RFP since it has a higher sensitivity.
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Cadmium, a known carcinogen, is a toxic heavy metal that is strictly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Cadmium is used globally in fertilizer, battery, paint, plastic, and electroplating industries. Exposure occurs from water, food, batteries, tobacco / marijuana, paints and many other sources. Cadmium exposure may cause damage to the victim’s heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and reproductive system; after long term exposure, death is a possibility. Because of its irreversibility, Cadmium-induced kidney damage is associated with renal failure. (Global Healing Center, 2012).
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<h2>Third</h2>
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The final project will be based solely on safety. Both sensors use genetically modified bacteria to provide the fluorescence. After use, our directions recommend treating the bacteria with bleach for appropriate disposure (included the kit). As we all know, not everyone reads the directions! We are afraid that instead of properly treating the bacteria with bleach, the users will decide to dump it down the drain,
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in their garden, or other locations. “What will happen if the user does (fill in the blank)?” is our motto for our safety project.
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Bibliography:
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Global Healing Center. (2012). Global Healing Center. Retrieved July 10, 2012 from <br />
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: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/heavy-metals/dangers-of-cadmium
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Revision as of 20:35, 28 September 2012


PREVIOUS


Gaston Day School’s iGEM project for 2011 has two distinct but complementary parts. First, we plan to build a functional nitrate detector using RFP. Red Fluorescent Protein has one distinct advantage over the more traditional Green Fluorescent Protein; it is visible without any special equipment. Our goal is to have a detector that is easy for anyone to use in the field. Most people, including farmers and ranchers, who would need to detect nitrogen pollution will not have a pocket UV light! We envision a kit that could be used to determine if the runoff of a particular farm was high in nitrogen. The kit will include all necessary components for running the test and then decontaminating the resulting growth to prevent release of the engineered bacteria into the environment. The second part of our project involves a close look at the actual risks of accidental release of the engineered bacteria into the environment. Many groups, including ours, have proposed and built environmental detectors of various sorts. Often, these detectors come with sophisticated mechanisms for preventing the release or for preventing the bacteria from growing if released. We would like to include a very simple mechanism for killing or denaturing the bacteria in our detector kit – bleach. Bleach is highly effective at killing bacteria and is readily available to the average person. Even if we include the bleach in the kit, we realize that many people do not (or will not) read and follow directions. We plan to simulate a variety of conditions under which our detector could be introduced into the environment, ranging from simply dumping it in the sink to pouring it into the local creek or soil. By producing survivorship curves, we can estimate the real risk of spreading the recombinant bacteria into the environment.



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NEEDS TITLE>>>>>>>


Despite improvements in water quality, contaminants still interfere with farming in many of the world’s biomes. In 2012, the Gaston Day School iGEM team’s project is to help solve this problem by using the existing registry of parts to create new heavy metal detectors. We have shifted our project from last year’s nitrate detector in order to focus on cadmium, arsenic, and lead contaminants in water. These sensors are built by using multiple promoters to narrow the range of the detected heavy metals down to one or two contaminants and combined with GFP reporters to create the new part. GFP is used because our spectrophotometer can accurately measure it. Once the parts are created, they are tested for accuracy and sensitivity. Many farmers need a way to measure the amount of heavy metals in water to determine whether the levels are dangerous, therefore each heavy metal detector must be as sensitive as the respective federal limits in water. As the project continues, we plan to test the safety of the engineered bacteria and create survivorship curves as they are released into different environments, similar to last year’s testing. When the final kit is constructed we plan to include the heavy metal detectors and all components necessary to run, accurately measure, and safely dispose of the tests. This kit will help agricultural and environmental fields make improvements in safety.



iGEM 2012 Gaston Day School


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