Team:Shenzhen SZMS

From 2013hs.igem.org

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Our team is going to develop novel modular biosensors that enable cost-effective and on-site detection of nitrates/nitrites by using an Escherichia coli (E.coli) chassis. And our development toward the nitrates/nitrites sensor is based on the previous work of the UT Dallas 2010 and Cambridge 2009. Their aim was to enable E.coli to report the existence of nitrates/nitrites with green fluorescent protein (GFP), but we found several drawbacks of this biosensor. Firstly, the GFP reporter within the bacteria is not efficient enough to respond to the inducer so only dim green fluorescence can be detected. Also, this biosensor cannot be recycled for repeated usage because it does not have an efficient way to turn off the reporting process after the detection. Thus, our team aim to improve the biosensor.
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Our team is going to develop novel modular biosensors that enable cost-effective and on-site detection of nitrates/nitrites by using an Escherichia coli (E.coli) chassis. And our development toward the nitrates/nitrites sensor is based on the previous work of the UT Dallas 2010 and Cambridge 2009. Their aim was to enable E.coli to report the existence of nitrates/nitrites with green fluorescent protein (GFP), but we found several drawbacks of this biosensor. Firstly, the GFP reporter within the bacteria is not efficient enough to respond to the inducer so only dim green fluorescence can be detected. Also, this biosensor cannot be recycled for repeated usage because it does not have an efficient way to turn off the reporting process after the detection. Thus, our team aims to improve the biosensor.

Revision as of 03:04, 30 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:
  • a team description
  • 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?)
You may also wish to add other page such as:
  • lab notebook
  • sponsor information
  • other information
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Example: 2013hs.igem.org/Team:Shenzhen_SZMS/Our_Pets



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Shenzhen SZMS logo.png

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

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Team Shenzhen_SZMS


Official Team Profile

Contents

Team

Tell us about your team, your school!


Project

Project Discription

Nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) are chemical roots of nitric acid (HNO3) and nitrous acid (HNO2) respectively. They exist in the aquatic environment, the living organisms and artificial products, as pollutants, which can cause food poisoning, cancers or even death. It's important to detect and eliminate such chemicals with the efficient methods. Currently, several detection methods have already been in use but all are not entirely harmless. For example, granular Cd grains are recommended for the NO3- determination for fruits and vegetables because they are easy to make and recover, and can be used repeatedly. However, Cd cannot be recycled easily, and may cause additional pollution. So the goal of our project is to provide an efficient and a more environment friendly method of detecting nitrates/nitrites and we strive to design biosensors to avoid the disadvantages of traditional methods.


Our team is going to develop novel modular biosensors that enable cost-effective and on-site detection of nitrates/nitrites by using an Escherichia coli (E.coli) chassis. And our development toward the nitrates/nitrites sensor is based on the previous work of the UT Dallas 2010 and Cambridge 2009. Their aim was to enable E.coli to report the existence of nitrates/nitrites with green fluorescent protein (GFP), but we found several drawbacks of this biosensor. Firstly, the GFP reporter within the bacteria is not efficient enough to respond to the inducer so only dim green fluorescence can be detected. Also, this biosensor cannot be recycled for repeated usage because it does not have an efficient way to turn off the reporting process after the detection. Thus, our team aims to improve the biosensor.


We selected the PyeaR promoter as the initial part of biosensor, which is used to respond to nitrates and nitrites. In order to make a remarkable expression, we then plan to use a reporter gene, the CrtEBI, that, when synthesized, will lead the E. coli to release a specific pigment, lycopene, as the visible color to determine the existence of nitrates/nitrites. Simultaneously, we will incorporate another reporter, the banana odor enzyme (ATF1) generator, which enables our biosensor to produce an aroma of bananas with the existence of nitrates/nitrites. Therefore, our biosensor containing dual reporters may ensure a high accuracy in the detection of nitrates and nitrites. We also intend to build our biosensor to trigger the release of lipoxygenase to facilitate the degradation of the lycopene, which may enable the repeated usage of this biosensor.

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?


Attributions

Who worked on what?


Human Practices

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


Fun!

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


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