Difference between revisions of "Team:WPI Worcester"

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<h1> Welcome to iGEM 2017! </h1>
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<h1><font color="#AC2B37">Project Summary</font></h1>
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<p>Your team has been approved and you are ready to start the iGEM season! </p>
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<h5>Before you start: </h5>
 
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<p> Please read the following pages:</p>
 
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<li>  <a href="https://2017.igem.org/Competition">Competition Hub</a> </li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2017.igem.org/Competition/Deliverables/Wiki">Wiki Requirements page</a></li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2017.igem.org/Resources/Template_Documentation">Template documentation</a></li>
 
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<h5> Styling your wiki </h5>
 
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<p>You may style this page as you like or you can simply leave the style as it is. You can easily keep the styling and edit the content of these default wiki pages with your project information and completely fulfill the requirement to document your project.</p>
 
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<p>While you may not win Best Wiki with this styling, your team is still eligible for all other awards. This default wiki meets the requirements, it improves navigability and ease of use for visitors, and you should not feel it is necessary to style beyond what has been provided.</p>
 
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<h5> Wiki template information </h5>
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<h3>Got Lead?</h3>
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<p>We have created these wiki template pages to help you get started and to help you think about how your team will be evaluated. You can find a list of all the pages tied to awards here at the <a href="https://2017.igem.org/Judging/Pages_for_Awards">Pages for awards</a> link. You must edit these pages to be evaluated for medals and awards, but ultimately the design, layout, style and all other elements of your team wiki is up to you!</p>
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<p>Lead contamination in drinking water is a major problem across the U.S. Due to aging infrastructure, many people lack access to a consistent, clean source of water in their homes. Cities and local governments must react urgently to lead contamination and administer water testing and treatment solutions to their citizens. Our project aims to improve lead testing and treatment in emergency situations by developing a lead biosensor and probiotic, as well as a lead assay. </p>
  
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<h3>Two Bacteria, Two Solutions</h3>
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<p>Our design of the at-home lead biosensor considers the safety of the organism as well as a quantitative yet straightforward indication of lead contamination. The biosensor colorimetrically signals benchmark levels of lead contamination in a sample of water by producing specific chromoproteins. These benchmarks are based on EPA standards for lead contamination in water and confirmed by our lead assay. For our biosensor to express chromoproteins at these benchmarks, we utilized error-prone PCR to mutate an existing lead promoter; specific promoters were tested and selected based on their sensitivity to lead. We are conducting proof-of-principle demonstrations of the biosensor in <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and will ultimately transform it into the Generally Recognized As Safe organism <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>. <br/> </p>
  
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<p>Our probiotic, <i>Lactobacillus rhamnosus</i>, offers an emergency prophylactic treatment for lead contamination by absorbing lead from the gastrointestinal tract. Someone who must continue to consume contaminated water would simply eliminate the leaded bacteria with the rest of their waste. To achieve this, we are using selective pressure to evolve a probiotic with enhanced lead-binding capacity. The extent to which the probiotic absorbed lead was analyzed by our lead assay. Our project will improve the accessibility of lead detection and bioremediation for the general population. </p>
  
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<h3>The Engineering Behind it All</h3>
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<h5><font color="#A9B0B7">Bio-Detection</font></h5>
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<h5> Editing your wiki </h5>
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Our <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> biosensor will contain a plasmid with three chromoprotein genes, each with a slightly different version of a promoter which is responsive to lead concentration. This will result in three different colors to be produced at different concentrations of lead: low, medium, and high. This will help users understand that they have lead in their water in addition to how much.
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<p>On this page you can document your project, introduce your team members, document your progress and share your iGEM experience with the rest of the world! </p>  
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<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/7/73/T--WPI_Worcester--2017-Biosensor_Beaker.png" alt="Biosensor Beaker" style="float:left;width:800px;height:415px;">
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<p> <a href="https://2017.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Example&action=edit"> </a>Use WikiTools - Edit in the black menu bar to edit this page</p>
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<h5><font color="#A9B0B7">Probiotic Purification</font></h5>
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<p><i>Lactobacillus rhamnosus</i> has natural lead-binding capabilities (Marc). When <i>Lactobacillus</i> binds lead, it keeps the lead from being absorbed by your system, allowing the normally toxic metal to pass harmlessly out of your body by just taking one pill every day. We plan to “force-evolve” <i>Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG</i> to have enhanced lead-binding capabilities as well as the ability to survive in higher concentrations of lead by exposing it to the metal and observing its growth.<br/><br/></p>
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<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/f/fb/T--WPI_Worcester--2017-_Probiotic_Beaker.png" alt="Probiotic Beaker" style="float:left;width:800px;height:415px;">
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<h5>Tips</h5>
 
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<p>This wiki will be your team’s first interaction with the rest of the world, so here are a few tips to help you get started: </p>
 
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<li>State your accomplishments! Tell people what you have achieved from the start. </li>
 
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<li>Be clear about what you are doing and how you plan to do this.</li>
 
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<li>You have a global audience! Consider the different backgrounds that your users come from.</li>
 
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<li>Make sure information is easy to find; nothing should be more than 3 clicks away.  </li>
 
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<li>Avoid using very small fonts and low contrast colors; information should be easy to read.  </li>
 
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<li>Start documenting your project as early as possible; don’t leave anything to the last minute before the Wiki Freeze. For a complete list of deadlines visit the <a href="https://2017.igem.org/Calendar">iGEM 2017 calendar</a> </li>
 
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<li>Have lots of fun! </li>
 
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<h5>Inspiration</h5>
 
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<p> You can also view other team wikis for inspiration! Here are some examples:</p>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:SDU-Denmark/"> 2014 SDU Denmark </a> </li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aalto-Helsinki">2014 Aalto-Helsinki</a> </li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:LMU-Munich">2014 LMU-Munich</a> </li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Michigan"> 2014 Michigan</a></li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:ITESM-Guadalajara">2014 ITESM-Guadalajara </a></li>
 
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<li> <a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:SCU-China"> 2014 SCU-China </a></li>
 
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<h5> Uploading pictures and files </h5>
 
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<p> You can upload your pictures and files to the iGEM 2017 server. Remember to keep all your pictures and files within your team's namespace or at least include your team's name in the file name. <br />
 
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When you upload, set the "Destination Filename" to <br><code>T--YourOfficialTeamName--NameOfFile.jpg</code>. (If you don't do this, someone else might upload a different file with the same "Destination Filename", and your file would be erased!)<br><br>
 
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UPLOAD FILES
 
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Latest revision as of 20:08, 13 October 2017




Project Summary


Got Lead?

Lead contamination in drinking water is a major problem across the U.S. Due to aging infrastructure, many people lack access to a consistent, clean source of water in their homes. Cities and local governments must react urgently to lead contamination and administer water testing and treatment solutions to their citizens. Our project aims to improve lead testing and treatment in emergency situations by developing a lead biosensor and probiotic, as well as a lead assay.

Two Bacteria, Two Solutions

Our design of the at-home lead biosensor considers the safety of the organism as well as a quantitative yet straightforward indication of lead contamination. The biosensor colorimetrically signals benchmark levels of lead contamination in a sample of water by producing specific chromoproteins. These benchmarks are based on EPA standards for lead contamination in water and confirmed by our lead assay. For our biosensor to express chromoproteins at these benchmarks, we utilized error-prone PCR to mutate an existing lead promoter; specific promoters were tested and selected based on their sensitivity to lead. We are conducting proof-of-principle demonstrations of the biosensor in Escherichia coli, and will ultimately transform it into the Generally Recognized As Safe organism Bacillus subtilis.

Our probiotic, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, offers an emergency prophylactic treatment for lead contamination by absorbing lead from the gastrointestinal tract. Someone who must continue to consume contaminated water would simply eliminate the leaded bacteria with the rest of their waste. To achieve this, we are using selective pressure to evolve a probiotic with enhanced lead-binding capacity. The extent to which the probiotic absorbed lead was analyzed by our lead assay. Our project will improve the accessibility of lead detection and bioremediation for the general population.

The Engineering Behind it All

Bio-Detection

Our Bacillus subtilis biosensor will contain a plasmid with three chromoprotein genes, each with a slightly different version of a promoter which is responsive to lead concentration. This will result in three different colors to be produced at different concentrations of lead: low, medium, and high. This will help users understand that they have lead in their water in addition to how much. Biosensor Beaker


















Probiotic Purification

Lactobacillus rhamnosus has natural lead-binding capabilities (Marc). When Lactobacillus binds lead, it keeps the lead from being absorbed by your system, allowing the normally toxic metal to pass harmlessly out of your body by just taking one pill every day. We plan to “force-evolve” Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG to have enhanced lead-binding capabilities as well as the ability to survive in higher concentrations of lead by exposing it to the metal and observing its growth.

Probiotic Beaker