Difference between revisions of "Team:Manchester/Description"

Phosphorus, one of the most common element on earth, is a fundamental element for all living organisms. From DNA to cell membranes, phosphorus is essential for a variety of biological molecules. It is also vital for food production since it is one of the three nutrients used in commercial fertilizers alongside nitrogen and potassium.

There is currently a debate on whether we are reaching peak phosphorus production. In other words, are we using it faster than we can extract it? Regardless of the answer, the phosphorus cycle is inefficient and is often overlooked even though there are serious consequences if we are indeed running out of phosphorus. To address this problem, we have designed a solution that would ‘close the loop’ in the phosphorus cycle.

We are engineering a bacteria that can store and accumulate increased levels of phosphate through microcompartments. Phosphate is stored in bacteria in the form of a polyphosphate chain, built by the enzyme, polyphosphate kinase (PPK). Exopolyphosphatase (PPX) functions to breaks down this chain, providing phosphate to be used by the bacteria.

We will target PPK to the inside of the microcompartment, enabling chains of phosphate to be stored within the protective protein shell. Because it is inside this storage, PPX and the bacteria cannot get access to the phosphate chain and therefore will take up more phosphate from its surroundings to make up for the unaccessible phosphate. This creates a bacteria that can take up and store a higher level of phosphate than normal.

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