Team:Nanjing/Description
Description
Our project is using agrobacteria to produce chitinase in tobacco leaves in order to help resist insect’s infection. Chitin is the composition of insects’ exoskeleton and digestion tract. Chitinase can decompose chitin and hence reduce insect infection. Moreover, human body doesn’t include chitin, so consuming chitinase won’t cause harm to humans. This method can be used as a “green pesticide” which doesn’t damage the environment as chemical pesticides do. The agrobacteria have a unique ability to transfer part of its plasmid into plant genome, which is the T-DNA. If we insert the gene of interest into the T-DNA area, the agrobacteria will act as a “natural genetic editor” which produce the protein we want in tobacco. The gene of interest we use is the chitinase gene from cotton. We adopt binary system in transporting the gene of interest because it can increase the efficiency and success rate. After the establishment of new plasmid, we perform a micropropagation with tobacco leave pieces to ensure the new plant will contain the gene we want. At the same time, we will insert an GFP gene in our plasmid to help test whether our chitinase is produced normally. If this method can work successfully, it will be useful in future agricultural industry and will be effective in achieving the sustainable development.
Inspirations
As mentioned in personal introduction, I love watching documentaries. In a BBC programme Fighting the Ebola, I first knew the technology of genetic editing plants to give it property of producing antibody. Also, this is the first glace I had with Agrobacteria, the bizarre bacterial gene expert. When designing the project, I first thought about the plant gene editing. At first, I thought about similar projects as what showed on the documentary —— producing vaccines from leaves. However, instructors and teachers told me that vaccine is only effective in animal cells, and plant is not the perfect choice to express such gene fragments. Finally, when reviewing Campbell’s Biology, I found that insects’ exoskeletons are made of chitin. I searched whether there is a kind of enzyme which can digest chitin and I did find it —— chitinase —— present not only in animals but also in plants. Then, our project began…
------------- by Janet