Team:SharonBasicallyAcid

From 2013hs.igem.org

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'''Economic Considerations:'''
'''Economic Considerations:'''
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Common methods of decreasing the pH of soil in existence now include using sulfur compounds such as magnesium sulfate of ammonium sulphate. While these substances are not expensive in small quantities (a 21 pound bag can be found at Home Depot for about $25) and may be suited for use in small, private gardens, it becomes expensive when a large area is involved. Our proton pump incorporated into a bacterium could be, in the long term, sufficiently cheaper, for bacteria can self replicate and large quantities of it can be produced in a relatively short time span. Once the initial bacteria are created, having them reproduce into a large quantity of substance can be done virtually cost-free.
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    The control of hydroponics is, in general, a very expensive process, but our bacteria will allow this to be accomplished at a much lower cost. pH in soil is usually regulated naturally by soil, but hydroponics does not have this natural system and, therefore, requires machinery to measure these aspects. Our bacteria will be able to eliminate this need for machinery and will provide a continuous way to regulate the pH of the hydroponic system. Although pH can be measured relatively cheaply using a pH sensor or some similar means, in order to continuously measure pH and respond to it, more expensive machinery is required. In addition, people must be hired to maintain it, which provides an additional cost.
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    Our bacteria will remove this requirement for continuous moderation by humans, for if a gene for pH regulation, such as a proton pump, was linked to the pH sensor (more research must be done to get the proton pump, however), the system would be self regulating and the requirement for expensive machinery and human monitoring of the system.
===Fun!===
===Fun!===

Revision as of 19:31, 21 May 2013


This is a template page. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
You are provided with this team page template with which to start the iGEM season. You may choose to personalize it to fit your team but keep the same "look." Or you may choose to take your team wiki to a different level and design your own wiki. You can find some examples HERE.
You MUST have the following information on your wiki:
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  • project description
  • safety information (did your team take a safety training course? were you supervised in the lab?)
  • team attribution (who did what part of your project?)
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  • lab notebook
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  • other information
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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.

Tell us more about your project. Give us background. Use this as the abstract of your project. Be descriptive but concise (1-2 paragraphs)

Team SharonBasicallyAcid


Official Team Profile

Team

Tell us about your team, your school!



It’s a bird! No, it’s a plane! No, It’s SUPERBACTERIA!

Our SuperBacteria will detect dangerously low or high levels of various nutrients, indicate a fluctuation with a flashing red or blue light, and correct the concentrations by secreting or absorbing the appropriate nutrient. It is the savior of hydroponics that the world has been looking for! Hydroponics is a system in which plants are grown in a nutrient-rich solution. These bacteria are self-sustaining and will cut the costs of expensive machinery that is currently required to monitor nutrient levels. Currently we are working on having our SuperBacteria detect and indicate non-ideal levels of pH.



Project

What are you working on this semester?

We are planning to create a pH sensor/expression device. This device would allow bacteria to sense the pH of their environment and then indicate that pH by producing a color change. We think this could be used in hydroponics to indicate that the growth medium is at a proper pH. Eventually we would like to insert a gene that can respond to pH changes by secreting Hydrogen ions or Hydroxyl ions.


Hydroponics:

When a little kid explains how to grow plants, he usually includes soil in his list of materials. But thanks to hydroponics, this is no longer necessary.

Hydroponics is a system to grow terrestrial plants with their roots inside a mineral nutrient solution in an inert medium, such as gravel, mineral wood, or perlite, instead of soil.

There are many advantages to using hydroponics as opposed to growing plants in soil:

   Water either stays in the system, or is reused
   Easier to control nutrient levels, especi.
   ally for aeroponics, and continuous flow hydroponics
   Controlled, closed system --> no pollution; no pesticides required
   healthy environment to grow --> steady growth of plants, good yield, healthy plant products for consumption
   Pests and diseases are easier to get rid of than in soil because of the container's mobility (no need for pesticides)

Types of Hydroponics:

   Solution Culture: uses a solution to supply nutrients to plants.
       Static: The plant root sits in a jar containing the nutrient-rich solution
           algae may form if the water is not covered properly -> must use an opaque cover
       Continuous Flow: the solution containing the nutrients flows through a circuit
           large storage tank that is separate from the plants
           easy to maintain the temperature and nutrient concentration


       Aeroponics: roots are sprayed with the nutrient solution
           suspended in the air
           plants live longer because they get more CO2 and O2 in the air
           saves water and nutrients, lowering costs



   Medium Culture: Roots are placed in a solid medium, and it is named depending on the specific type of medium used. Examples include sand  or gravel culture.
       sub-irrigation
       top irrigation
   Reservoirs can be built with plastic, glass, metal, wood, concrete
   Disadvantages:
       easy to be over watered (less of a problem for aeroponics, big problem for static system)
       Hard to keep different types of plants together ( each requires different pH and nutrient levels); need different containment systems
       Requires a lot of machinery to make sure the system is working in perfect order --> very expensive!!!!!. If not:
           If something goes wrong in the system, all the plants die very quickly
               Without soil, it is easy for the pH and nutrient levels to get messed up



With our bacteria the need for these machines will be eliminated our bacteria will be able to tell us the conditions of the nutrient water and indicate it, allowing us to respond to the condition.

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? Although we are focusing on the first step of the project this year, it is important for us to consider the safety precautions we must take in the future. Our bacteria is meant to indicate and adjust the pH of a specific area. While this is helpful if the bacteria is controlled, a lack of constraint concerning the ability of the bacteria to travel could potentially be harmful. In order to prevent this, we have incorporated a part into the bacteria in order to disable it should it migrate.

There are no current technologies that assist growing plants that require a low pH. Farmers grow these particular plants, such as tomatoes and blueberries, in an artificially acidic environment. Adding acids to the soil can be detrimental to the environment in many aspects. The primary concern is what the consequences would be if the chemicals leaked out of the system and into surrounding areas. It could contaminate other plants that need a high pH to grow, thus killing crops that supply entire towns with food. There are also uncontrollable factors, such as acid rain or water runoff that can change the pH. Because of this, this method requires a lot of manpower to constantly maintain the correct pH for the plants to grow in. Our solution is better than directly adding chemicals to the environment because it takes all of these issues into consideration. Using a bacteria that would be able to change the pH on its own is clearly the best method to growing plants in acidic conditions. Because the bacteria releases protons on the basis of the surrounding pH, we would not need to worry about uncontrollable environmental factors changing the pH because the bacteria does not take into consideration what is changing the pH, simply the quantitative data. We would not need to maintain the soil so regularly because bacteria reproduces in the soil by natural causes. Lastly, we can control the bacteria in case of leakage outside the system by programming cell death with a separately manufactured bacteria, protein, or chemical.

Attributions

Who worked on what?


Human Practices

What impact does/will your project have on the public?

Economic Considerations:

   The control of hydroponics is, in general, a very expensive process, but our bacteria will allow this to be accomplished at a much lower cost. pH in soil is usually regulated naturally by soil, but hydroponics does not have this natural system and, therefore, requires machinery to measure these aspects. Our bacteria will be able to eliminate this need for machinery and will provide a continuous way to regulate the pH of the hydroponic system. Although pH can be measured relatively cheaply using a pH sensor or some similar means, in order to continuously measure pH and respond to it, more expensive machinery is required. In addition, people must be hired to maintain it, which provides an additional cost.
   Our bacteria will remove this requirement for continuous moderation by humans, for if a gene for pH regulation, such as a proton pump, was linked to the pH sensor (more research must be done to get the proton pump, however), the system would be self regulating and the requirement for expensive machinery and human monitoring of the system.

Fun!

What was your favorite team snack?? Have a picture of your team mascot?


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