igem brainstorming. oil spills can release up to 1.5 million tons of crude oil into the ocean ...

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


Store in vesicles and then collect


Eliminate completelyEliminate

completely





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


HemophiliaHemophilia

Traumatic Wounds

Traumatic Wounds



Artificial clotting factor, thrombinArtificial clotting factor, thrombin

Isolate gene from human

DNA(Transcript Variant 2)


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


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


DNA


DNA


has stopped


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

igem brainstorming. oil spills can release up to 1.5 million tons of crude oil into the ocean ...

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