Competition/Tracks/Environment
Environment Track
Environment has been a track in iGEM for many years of the competition. Projects that tackle environmental issues have been popular since the first biosensor projects started to appear in the 2006 iGEM competition. Teams have been inspired to work on solutions to problems in their local area, such as the UBC in 2011 and Colombia in 2012. These teams were inspired to tackle massive environmental problems that are unique to their regions. Learning about these problems and how passionate teams can be to find solutions is one of the great parts of the iGEM competition.
You will find images and abstracts of the winning environmental teams from 2011 to 2013 in the page below. Also, follow the links below to see projects from all the Environment track teams.
Bielefeld-CeBiTec
Cell-free Sticks - It works on paper
We developed cell-free biosensors which can be used as paper-based test strips. These offer significant advantages over conventional biosensors regarding biosafety, sensitivity and output signal. We created two technical approaches built upon self-made E.coli cell extract and our newly established Plasmid Repressor Interaction Assay (PRIA). Both can be immobilized on paper. The fluorescence signal is detected via smartphone. With these novel biosensor designs we tackle the problem of date rape drug intoxications, which is of increasing relevance in our area, by detecting a common ingredient. Another major problem is the contamination of water with heavy metals. Heavy metal sensors designed by previous iGEM teams as well as new biosensors are combined to a modular cell-free test strip for simultaneous detection. All in all, we are providing an extensible biosensor on paper as a valuable tool for water quality analysis for everyone.
Cornell
fishPHARM: A Genetically Engineered Solution to Bacterial Coldwater Disease in Salmonid Fish
Salmonid fish are among one of the leading agricultural exports worldwide. Unfortunately, thousands of these otherwise viable or edible fish are wasted each year to bacterial coldwater disease (BCWD). BCWD is a potentially lethal bacterial infection that currently lacks an effective industrial solution and is caused by the pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum. Our fishPHARM system offers a comprehensive treatment for BCWD and is composed of a biologically synthesized peptide integrated into a fish tag drug delivery mechanism to safely administer our treatment to infected fish without environmental harm. Recent research has shown that the entericidin B peptide provides resistance against F. psychrophilum, thereby acting as a curative agent for infected fish. In order to determine the most effective BCWD biological treatment, we aim to engineer E. coli for the production of over twenty different entericidins and to test their activity against F. psychrophilum.
