iGEM Brainstorming
Oil spills can release up to 1.5 million tons of crude oil into the ocean
Current efforts include use of detergents, mechanical clean up, and organisms such as bacteria
Some denser oils such as PCB (poly-chlorinated biphenyls) are harder to clean up
Cost billions of dollars in damage to the economy and to the wildlife
Engineer bacteria or yeast to clean up the oil spill
Current microorganisms used in clean up do not convert the crude oil to anything useful
Should engineer bacteria to convert the crude oil into more useful alkanes, hydrogen gas, or other petroleum derived products
Bacteria naturally produce surfactants Find a naturally occurring gene that would
allow the bacteria to produce hydrogen gas, natural gas, or more bio-friendly alkanes from the oil spill
Crude oil also contains about 10% sulfur, so bacteria that thrive on sulfur would be ideal
E. ColiE. Coli Crude OilCrude Oil convertconvert
DigestDigest
CollectCollect
convertconvert
DigestDigest
CollectCollect
Eliminate completelyEliminate
completely
Lower-order carbon compounds
Lower-order carbon compounds
Store in vesicles and then collect
Store in vesicles and then collect
Eliminate completelyEliminate
completely
Lower-order carbon compounds
Lower-order carbon compounds
Store in vesicles and then collect
Store in vesicles and then collect
Isolate gene from bioremediation
microbes
Isolate gene from bioremediation
microbes
Convert to H2 gas, burn in air to create
water;Elemental carbon
Convert to H2 gas, burn in air to create
water;Elemental carbon
Collect bacteria using magnets (Fe gene), later have them release the crude oil or convert to
ethanol, butanol, or other derivatives
Collect bacteria using magnets (Fe gene), later have them release the crude oil or convert to
ethanol, butanol, or other derivatives
Hemophilia and von Willebrand’s Disease result from imperfections in the clotting cascade
Mutated genes that produce Factor VIII, IX, and von Willebrand’s Factor
Heritable inability to coagulate efficiently/at all
Patients often bleed for extended periods of time
Current treatment consists of injections of the relative clotting factors
Can be human, recombinant, or porcine Patients often produce antibodies to the
porcine clotting factors Treatment can cost hundreds of dollars a
year Anticoagulants are also a problem as they
induce continued bleeding
Engineer bacteria or yeast to produce the relative clotting factors (VIII, IX, von Willebrand)
Take gene from humans using colony PCR and insert into vectors
Factors can either be produced in sizable quantities in vitro, or bacteria can be administered when injury occurs in vivo
If applied to the affected area, immune markers would have to be removed from the bacteria.
E. ColiE. Coli ClottingClotting
HemophiliaHemophilia
Traumatic Wounds
Traumatic Wounds
EPO or steroid sensing
EPO or steroid sensing
HemophiliaHemophilia
Traumatic Wounds
Traumatic Wounds
EPO or steroid sensing
EPO or steroid sensing
Artificial clotting factor, thrombinArtificial clotting factor, thrombin
Isolate gene from human
DNA(Transcript Variant 2)
Isolate gene from human
DNA(Transcript Variant 2)
Initiate widespread clotting by
stopping blood flow
Initiate widespread clotting by
stopping blood flow
Programmed cell death once blood flow
has stopped
Programmed cell death once blood flow
has stopped
Make sensitive to EPO, steroid,
or drug of choice
Make sensitive to EPO, steroid,
or drug of choice
Change pH or color of bloodChange pH or color of blood
Isolate gene from human
DNA
Isolate gene from human
DNA
Programmed cell death once blood flow
has stopped
Programmed cell death once blood flow
has stopped
Change pH or color of bloodChange pH or color of blood
Non-glycosylated proteins, thrombinNon-glycosylated
proteins, thrombin
Factor VIII transcript variant 2
Factor VIII transcript variant 2
Activated Factor IX
Activated Factor IX
Activated Factor XI
Activated Factor XI
Factor XII (serine protease), or other missing necessary
proteases
Factor XII (serine protease), or other missing necessary
proteases
Use biofilm to stop bleedingUse biofilm to stop bleeding
Sense glycosylation residues
Sense glycosylation residues