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Team:UQ-Australia/Project
From 2009.igem.org
Water Purification Project
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Bioprecipitation Project
Project Description
The arid climate of Australia has become notorious for causing widespread problems for agricultural industries. That is, the scarcity of water hinders the production of crops and livestock, as well as forcing restrictions of daily water usage for households. Team UQ Australia aims to solve this problem through the use of a bio-precipitation technique, thus increasing the availability of our most precious resource.
Pseudomonas syringae is a common bacterium, primarily found in colder climates (optimally at 22oC), and is well known for its biological ice nucleation properties, i.e. the formation of rain/snow. However, the bacteria are unable to survive in environmental temperatures above 28oC. By introducing heat shock proteins (DnaK, DnaJ, GroEL, and GroES) through plasmid insertion, UQ Australia aims to increase the optimal growth temperature available to P.syringae, thereby allowing bio-precipitation to occur in warmer (and drought stricken) climates.
Ideally, UQ Australia will be contributing a number of parts to the registry. Firstly, a plasmid with DnaK, DnaJ, as well as an upstream promoter will drive the expression of these two genes. Secondly, an additional plasmid will carry the genes for GroEL and GroES, also complemented by an upstream promoter to drive gene expression.
