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Revision as of 15:38, 28 October 2017
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6 plant biologists,
30 hydroponic crop growers,
4 hydroponic supplies vendors,
2 community leaders.
Overview
Although for OxyPonics we chose to ultimately focus on the field of hydroponics, we did not forget the wide applicability our biocircuit might have in a variety of sectors. Our biocircuit senses relative levels of reactive oxidative species (ROS) in living systems utilizing fluorescent fusion proteins. By coupling these proteins with light sensitive expression of an antioxidant, we can respond to and regulate ROS levels to a setpoint we decide. This biocircuit can be used to optimize cell growth and minimize damage.
Cornell is an academic research hub with researchers studying the application of oxidative stress to multiple fields. We tapped into the accessible depth and breadth of knowledge on campus not only to evaluate and validate the conceptual aspects of our potential circuit, but to gain perspective into what other applications our feedback-regulating ROS biocircuit could be adapted to. Furthermore, we learned what key considerations to keep in mind as we made decisions concerning our biocircuit and other OxyPonics components.
Key Takeaways
- Harm from oxidative stress limits what can be done in cell and molecular biology and genetic engineering. Our biocircuit could allow for more research potential.
- ROS can cause damage to DNA and high levels will be harmful to plants.
- Oxidative stress is a feature of plants’ immune response and small amounts can promote plant health. Hence, a minimum level of ROS should also be maintained.
- E. coli and plants may not be able to grow together. We need to develop a physical barrier to enclose the bacteria.
- Plants can release oxidants through their roots when stressed, so this would be an ideal location for our biological sensor to be positioned.
Dr. Yimon Aye
Our first interview, during the stage of still scoping out and deciding on our project this year, was with Dr. Yimon Aye, a notable researcher in the area of redox targeting for medical application in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. Professor Aye was excited about our use of the redox sensitive fluorescent protein. She affirmed the novelty of our idea to couple this fusion protein to graded response against ROS, and acknowledged that it would pave the way to creating more robust biological circuits in cells by being able to control damage caused by oxidative stress. Professor Aye also commented on potential obstacles that we might encounter, and pushed us to think about the number of parts our plan would require. Her insight and support led us to understand how our ROS-regulating biocircuit could be used as a tool in further synthetic biology advances. Additionally, we identified a need for heightened protection against ROS, which was taken into consideration when designing and assembling the biobricks we decided upon.
Dr. Greg Martin
To transition from the lab to the greenhouse, we talked to Dr. Greg Martin of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe Biology to better understand ROS in plants. Professor Martin researches the effect of disease in plants. With respect to oxidative species, Martin stressed the importance of ROS in the first and secondary lines of immune defense in plants. We learned that we needed to carefully control how much native ROS we quench in the plant, as quenching too much could make them more susceptible to disease. This idea was integrated into the biological circuit we developed. Instead of only lowering ROS levels, by having antioxidant product coupled to a light sensitive promoter we could also turn expression off to maintain a minimum level of oxidative stress.
Dr. Maria Harrison
Dr. Maria Harrison is an adjunct professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. She conducts research on the mechanisms underlying symbiosis between plants and fungal symbionts. By understanding how fungi interacted with plants, we were hoping to understand how E. coli might interact with our plants. We learned that there would be a big hurdle to having our E coli survive with the plants: E coli were optimized for the gut, while fungi have co-evolved with plants. This fed into the design decision to have our E. coli contained within dialysis tubing and put close proximity to the plants rather than in direct contact with them.
Dr. Tim Setter
We spoke to Dr. Tim Setter, a professor and the chair of the section of soil and crop science. He studies the mechanisms of drought stress response in plants. In hydroponics, drought is not a problem, but flooding is because it reduces oxygen levels for roots. Some plants have adapted to flooding and have developed submergence tolerance, but others will undergo an oxidative stress response. He informed that oxidants may leak out from the plant roots, which helped with our decision to place the bacteria around the roots of the plant.
Dr. Jed Sparks
After meeting with professors to discuss the foundation advance aspects of our project, we wanted to learn more about the bigger picture - the ecological context in which oxidative stress functions. We met with Dr. Jed Sparks of the Department of Evolution and Ecological Biology for this reason. He told us that soils and the environment in general are usually very effective at quenching exogenous ROS, but this advantage disappears in a hydroponic setting, in which the roots of the plants are in aqueous solution. This showed us that quantifying and responding ROS may be beneficial to the health of the plants. However, optimization of the response is necessary to prevent interference of plant metabolic and signaling pathways that involve ROS. Once again, this led to our decision to have antioxidant expression controlled by a light sensitive promoter that could be activated or deactivated on demand to maintain a certain level of ROS.
Additionally, Dr. Sparks showed us hydroponic setups that he uses to test genetically modified potatoes. These potatoes are able to scavenge nitrogen based pollutants in the atmosphere. Dr. Sparks also gave us pointers on how to grow using a hydroponic system.
Overview
We sought out research on the core of hydroponics: the plants. We spoke to plant biologists in a number of specialties to ask whether controlling oxidative stress could benefit growth. Their input confirmed that we could safely use oxidative stress without harming the plants we are trying to grow. Through these professors we not only gained effective understanding of plant physiology but also built upon the literature we had read to gain background on oxidative stresses effects on plants. Moreover, through some experts who focused specifically on hydroponic systems, we gained insight into common problems at hydroponic farms. These insights helped us develop a concept of how to design the product that would house our bacteria, and served as a preview into user interviews. We also learned about how we could test our system based on plant immunity and plant science.
Key Takeaways
- Affordability is a key concern for hydroponic systems which typically have narrow margins.
- ROS affect plant growth and differentiation - therefore a ideal balance must be struck between too much or too little oxidative stress.
- Ideal testing would require setting up a small-scale hydroponic system in a greenhouse.
- Our approach using a biocircuit is innovative and a different way of thinking in the realm of plant sciences.
Dr. Neil Mattson
We reached out to Dr. Neil Mattson, an expert on hydroponics and horticulture at Cornell University, to understand the hydroponics industry and intricacies. When we met with Dr. Mattson, he spoke with us at length about some of the problems hydroponic growers face, including high costs from HVAC systems and low margins due to disease and low yield. We realized that our system needed to be affordable as well as effective in increasing yields. From a technical standpoint, Dr. Mattson also helped us design our testing protocol by suggesting we use basil, a relatively easy crop to grow hydroponically that is becoming more and more widespread.
Dr. Adrienne H.K. Roeder
Dr. Adrienne Roeder was in a unique position to help us as a molecular biologist studying plant growth at Cornell University. She spoke to us about the special role reactive oxygen species (ROS) play in plant growth, including their roles in cell differentiation and maturation. She was excited about our project, as her own research had shown that using intracellular expression of oxidative enzymes such as catalase could help reduce oxidative stress for plant and increase blooming in plants exposed to external high levels of ROS. She expressed that there was potential that our regulation of ROS via OxyPonics could be an innovative approach to promoting plant health.
Dr. Miguel A. Pineros
Dr. Miguel Pineros, a professor at the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell, was enthusiastic about our project and approach.As we toured his greenhouse experiments where he had his own hydroponic set-ups, he excitedly told us that “most of where interesting science happens is at the interface of different sciences,” referring to how we were combining synthetic biology with plant sciences - two fields which typically do not interact in academia. Dr. Pineros area of expertise is in abiotic stresses and ROS production. He suggested we study root biology in hydroponics and measure the ROS production in treated vs. untreated plants for our testing. Furthermore, he gave us important feedback on containment: he suggested we use some sort of filter to contain the flow of nutrients in one direction and keep the bacteria separate from the plants. This manifested in the dialysis tubing we used to contain our bacteria. Moreover, his hydroponic set-up gave us some in-person contact with the type of system we wanted OxyPonics to be utilized for. This helped us understand firsthand what might work in such an environment, to build of the recommendations and suggestions provided through grower interviews.
Dr. Philip Benfey
After speaking with Dr. Pineros, we wanted more information about root systems and root biology. Dr. Roeder suggested we reach out to Dr. Benfey in Duke’s Department of Biology, who helped us learn about roots and ROS in root systems. He mentioned that our project was venturing into little-researched territory, and that the results could have important results on hydroponic crop growth. He also discussed some of the potential effects of ROS on root development, and some of the precautions we would need to take if we wanted proper plant development. This knowledge provided support that controlling ROS would in some way impact plant growth, and that our research into the are was valuable. It also pointed out the details to be considered in the hydroponic set-up we would be creating.
Dr. Lilian Hong
Dr. Lilian Hong is a post-doctoral student in Dr. Roeder’s research group at Cornell University. Dr. Hong was referred to us by Dr. Roeder when we asked to follow-up on the specific hydroponic set-ups the group had set-up when they saw the negative effects of oxidative stress on plant development. We have asked Dr. Hong for insight on how to set up a system ourselves. The set-up they used was a gel box with foam stabilizing blocks for arabidopsis as a model organism. Ultimately, we decided our system would be better suited for larger plants such as leafy greens. However, the visit was still valuable as we learned about what needs to be monitored in a hydroponic system, such as pH and nutrient levels. Dr. Hong also provided us with a sample nutrient solution mix for a hydroponic system. This information was important since the environment which both plants and E. coli are exposed to in a hydroponic system is critical to the successful operation of the Oxyponics.
Dr. Paula Turkon
Dr. Paula Turkon has a complex hydroponic setup on the other side of Ithaca, on South Hill at Ithaca College. We visited her facility a few times, and were able to observe first hand what hydroponic setups look like and how we could develop our own. With her advice, we decided to obtain greenhouse space to try our hydroponic system and learned about some of the variables, such as light exposure and nutrients, that would make the biggest differences in our cultivation.
Overview
Growers are at the backbone of OxyPonics since they potentially will be using the system in their greenhouses. So we talked to a lot of them - over 30 total. We talked, and we listened to what they had to tell us, instead of trying to steering the conversations to oxidative stress specifically. The feedback helped us authentically realize what farmers are looking for when improving their farms. This helped us understand what the problems we should be addressing are - a step that is critical to the design thinking process. Some of the most valuable exchanges are detailed in this section.
Key Takeaways
- Many farmers are working towards consistent crop yields and larger, tastier plants by moving towards automation. Our OxyPonics system was developed to help growers like the ones we talked to survey their crops more efficiently.
- Most farmers are looking to increase margins since hydroponic farming is typically much more expensive than traditional farming, and has many costly requirements for operation and upkeep. As a result, many hydroponic farms have failed within a few years of starting.
- Hydroponic farmers currently work with the variables of light, atmospheric pressure, humidity, pest control, microbes, temperature, pH, and nutrient levels. Hydroponics requires a controlled requirements.
- Oxidative stress is a variable largely untapped by current growers. Considering the background gained from literature and researchers, we believe monitoring and maintaining certain levels of oxidative stress could increase plant growth. There is a need for a product like OxyPonics.
Vertical Harvest
Omega Gardens is a small hydroponics set up focused on turning consumers into producers. Ted Marchildon, the owner, has a rotary greenhouse, which captures artificially added light and allows results to be obtained using only 3-4 watts. We hoped to gain insight on what makes his small scale farm work in a economic sector based on produce numbers. Omega Gardens is fleshing out an idea called Farmdominiums, which would be much like modern-day sharecropping where you buy land and people grow the crops for you. Omega Gardens is working to increase the atmospheric pressure in their greenhouses to increase crop growths. We learned that Omega Gardens deals with bugs and humidity problem. They aim to better conserve water and make a realistic environment for plants. From them, we learned that farmers’ care a lot about the conditions that their crops are exposed to, and hence might be receptive to new technologies like ours for crop improvement.
Terrapin Farms
Next we spoke to Terrapin Farms, an organic hydroponic farm that uses microbes in the water of their Nutrient Film Technique systems to improve the flavor of their greens. We wanted to learn about the use of microbes in farming, like we are trying to do. With no additional regulations outside regular farming, they keep their microbes alive in the nutrients by not using citric acid or ionic salts to control pH. We discovered that people do not seem to have a problem with the microbes because soil farming also has bacteria. Like most traditional hydroponic farms, they have high hopes in hydroponics' role in future food production. They reinforced the idea that hydroponics has the ability to allow farming in areas less susceptible to agriculture.
Karma Farms
We sought out small hydroponic farms in order to learn more about their struggles and what was obstructing them from expansion. Nathaniel Shaw is the Hydroponic Production Manager at Karma Farms, which is a small farm that focuses on year-long production of greens to the local community. His farm struggles with low margins and inconsistent crop yields. We discovered that he hopes to improve crop yield with a better lighting system and more automation for measurements such as pH and temperature. He emphasized the need for consistent crop yields to keep the business going.
Bolton Farms
Bolton Farms is a hydroponic greenhouse facility in Hilton, NY. We hoped to find out the highest costs in operating a mid-sized farm. We talked to John Bolton, who revealed that the biggest problems in hydroponics revolve around maintaining a controlled environment. Heating is an important part of control because of the cold winters in upstate NY. He mentioned to us that one of the biggest causes of hydroponics farms failing was labor costs. It takes large amounts of money to pay humans for labor, which is why some farms choose to move towards automation. Although paying for human labor continuous, machinery is a one-time investment.
Intergrow
Intergrow has been producing hydroponically grown tomatoes year round since 1998. We talked to them to learn about alternative methods of growing hydroponically. They specialize in drip irrigation to water their plants since tomatoes don't grow well in NFT or deep water systems. The drip technique involves individual pumps pouring nutrient solution onto the base of each plant and collecting the solution in a bottom tray. Intergrow grows plants in rockwool and uses drop moisture techniques. They're extremely tech-oriented in their approach, with two giant mixing tanks on top of the facility to handle nutrient mixing. With already implemented technology, Intergrow seemed not too worried about certain variables.
Red Acres
Red Acres is a 6th generation family farm in Maryland that primarily grows lettuce hydroponically. We hoped to learn about the problems that plagued hydroponics earlier in time. Red Acres faces several issues with their lettuce growth: they were unaware that the lettuce would be smaller and take longer to grow during the winter. On the other spectrum, very hot days cause bolting in the lettuce, which makes it bitter. Tip burn, where the leaves of a plant decay due to calcium deficiency or rapid growth, can also happen year-round. In order to combat these issues, they use automated systems and computers to regulate their plants.
Aerofarms
Aerofarms is an aeroponics farm located in Newark, NJ. Aerofarms is one of the few farms that grows their plants by constantly misting the crops’ roots. This technique, known as aeroponics, is done with a large number of machines that allow for a tremendous density of produce. We hoped to discover any differences between aeroponic techniques and deep water hydroponic techniques. A big problem for them is employee discipline since mental rigor is required to repeat similar tasks, maintain conditions, and watch everything carefully. They also lack the equipment necessary to spot disease early on.
PureSpinach
PureSpinach is a local hydroponic farm growing pesticide-free hydroponic spinach. PureSpinach was initially a Cornell startup which led us to them. In order to combat pythium, they use lower water temperatures. We encountered and talked to Serdar, CEO of PureSpinach, who gave us insight on farming and monitoring of his products. He was especially concerned with the temperature of his system, which needs to be carefully regulated in order to keep the spinach growing. He also emphasized the necessity for large-scale testing to ensure the validity of our findings.
Overview
We contacted vendors and distributors of hydroponic supplies who gave us insight into the viability and practicality of our device. They informed us on how large-scale hydroponic farms are laid-out and operated on a daily basis. These “big picture” contacts inspired our software integration of our biological and hardware parts of our project. Their insight helped us design a sleek, streamlined and consumer friendly-product adapted for all hydroponic growing conditions.
Key Takeaways
- Businesses put an emphasis on minimizing and reducing waste in hydroponic growing.
- Growers would invest in better equipment if there is a large return value even with high upfront costs.
- Data is key. Businesses and growers would like to see live data from their hydroponic tanks not only for growth monitoring, but to streamline expensive documentation and certification processes.
Vertical Harvest
Vertical Harvest, based in Alaska, is a veteran-owned agricultural technology company aimed at providing innovative farming solutions around the world. Vertical Harvest recently rolled out the 4th generation of their product, a hydroponic farms in the box, which is geared towards northern climates. They are also developing a cabinet-style hydroponics system for the home. We spoke to Cameron Willingham, the founder of Vertical Harvest, who provided us with insight on the business aspect of hydroponics and the technical aspect of building a reliable, low maintenance hydroponics system. Specifically, to make designs simple, hardy, and robust to ensure self sufficiency and versatility of hydroponic systems. Their products and comments reminded us that our product needed a sleek and hassle-free profile.
Helical Outpost
Helical Outpost is a military hydroponics outreach based in Louisiana which trains military veterans into hydroponics farmers in 6 weeks. We talked Kohlie Frantzen, who told us that they invest substantial time into creating standardized farming training using ideas from oil drilling sites. They also have invented a greenhouse that can be easily deployed in all climates and work as the village’s or town’s hub. They operate with the big theme of local sourced food. We hoped to learn which components of hydroponic farming are crucial to a successful setup and what techniques they found worthy of monitoring and standardizing. Helical Outpost's biggest concern is ensuring that the electrical components of their green houses do not fail and waste a full cycle of crops. They informed us that a way to see live data from hydroponic tanks would be extremely valuable.
Amhydro
We talked to Joe Swartz, VP of Commercial Sales and Technical Support at AmHydro, one of the largest hydroponic equipment distributors in the US. We hoped AmHydro could evaluate how marketable of a product OxyPonics is and whether or not OxyPonics would gain traction in the hydroponic community. Joe gave us insight on both the farming and technical aspects of hydroponics. We discovered that customers decide to upgrade their systems usually when there is a large return value, even with high initial costs. Currently, Amhydro is working on a way to effectively and easily keep track of data from crops using software. This would make growers' lives easier, since they need expensive documentation and certifications in order to produce food.
Overview
In our outreach, we aimed to improve our own methods and skills for communicating complex topics like synthetic biology effectively. However, we did not stop with our mission to "learn to teach". We gained insight about the potential hydroponics has to meet the produce demands of large cities. According to research done by Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab, urban agriculture in cities not only address questions of food security, but also encourages social development, public health, and environmental education [1]. Urban agriculture is an underutilized public resource, and therefore promoting community focus farming may sow the seeds for community self sufficiency while also engaging the youth in these living areas.
Rasheed Hislop
To run with this potential avenue of innovation, we talked to Rasheed Hislop of GreenThumb NYC, a gardening program sponsored by New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. We learned about citywide initiatives such as New York City’s “Grow to Learn” program in the schools, which uses the garden and the greenhouse as the classroom. Mr. Hislop told us this education program encompassed a variety of hands on skills, such as urban agriculture, rainwater harvesting, composting, pest control pests without using chemicals and pesticides, and mulching. The program puts a large emphasis on reducing and reusing with its partnership with the Climate Justice Organization. It gives students the opportunity to take up extensive service projects in improving the gardens while also providing teachers and parents workshops and trainings in the field of environmental education.
Mr. Hislop also mentioned that gardens with hydroponics are increasingly popular, and that they provide educators who lack green spaces and land to grow produce conventionally with a portable hydroponic gardening classroom. This take on bigger picture of environmental education gave us much to think about with respect to hydroponics and our project.
Dr. Marianne Krasny
Professor Marianne Krasny, a research extension associate who teaches teachers with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, which aims to translate research done in academic institution to the people, told us that the farms provide a unique and visceral learning environment that can't be replicated in the classroom. Unlike lectures, these situations have a “learn as you go” atmosphere. Community and school gardens in the cities therefore offer an “incredibly rich learning experience,” especially to underserved and low income urban areas. Professor Krasny gave us a unique take on this “formal, but informal” education that also has the potential to combine culture, science, and community engagement. Community farms allow students to connect with the culture capital of a neighborhood, for example with farming traditions and knowledge of elders and immigrants.
[1] Ackerman, K. (2011). The potential for urban agriculture in New York City: Growing capacity, food security, & green infrastructure. Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute Columbia University. Retrieved from http://urbandesignlab.columbia.edu/files/2015/04/4_urban_agriculture_nyc.pdf.
