Difference between revisions of "Team:HK SSC/Description"

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<h3>★  ALERT! </h3>
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<p>This page is used by the judges to evaluate your team for the <a href="https://2019.igem.org/Judging/Medals">medal criterion</a> or <a href="https://2019.igem.org/Judging/Awards"> award listed below</a>. </p>
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<p> Delete this box in order to be evaluated for this medal criterion and/or award. See more information at <a href="https://2019.igem.org/Judging/Pages_for_Awards"> Instructions for Pages for awards</a>.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span class="SpellE"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">iGEM</span></b></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> 2019 description<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
  
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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<h1>Project Inspiration and Description </h1>
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EN-US">Microcystis aeruginosa is one of the highly deleterious freshwater
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<h3>NEW: Bronze Medal Criterion #4</h3>
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cyanobacteria; it is well-known for causing harmful algae blooms in rivers and
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lakes. These algae blooms produce a large number of <span class="SpellE">microcystins</span>
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and neurotoxins, which potentially leads to death of fish and human as well as
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contamination of fresh water. However, M. aeruginosa also poses ecological
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value in oxygen synthesis and absorption in heavy metal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
  
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<p>Document how and why you chose your iGEM project on this page. Reference work outside or inside of iGEM that inspired your project, how you selected your project goal, and why you thought this project was a useful application of synthetic biology. Finally, provide a clear and concise description of what you plan on doing for your project.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
  
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<p>To be eligible for this award, you must add clear documentation to this page and delete the alert box at the top of this page.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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EN-US">We can see how these cyanobacteria have such a significant impact on the
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aquatic system which could subject to adverse impacts on the aquatic ecosystem
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as a whole. Take Lake <span class="SpellE">Taihu</span> as an example; the algae
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blooms are a serious threat to drinking water supplies and agriculture
 +
supplies. Chinese ecologists and marine biologists describe the lake as the
 +
smell of decaying fish. In the United States, such harmful cyanobacterial algae
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blooms have inflicted around 2 billion USD a year in losses as the water is
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unfit for drinking, recreation and agriculture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
  
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</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
  
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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EN-US">Through investigation on the cause of algae blooms, we found out that
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farmland and factories are usually built next to rivers and lakes, as water is
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vital for both agriculture and industrial uses. Since chemical fertilizers and
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sewage all contain nitrates and phosphates, this catalyzes the reproduction of
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cyanobacteria such as Microcystis Aeruginosa. However, we realized that
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limiting the use of fertilizers and the amount of sewage released from
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factories are impractical because this would affect the efficiency of
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production.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
  
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
  
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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<h3>What should this page contain?</h3>
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EN-US">Therefore, instead of limiting the use of such fertilizers, our project
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<ul>
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not only aims to mutate M. aeruginosa through modifying its toxin-producing
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<li> A clear and concise description of your project.</li>
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gene but also aims to characterize the cyanobacteria’s ability to absorb heavy
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<li>A detailed explanation of why your team chose to work on this particular project.</li>
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metal. Dcas9 is transformed into and co-expressed in the toxin-producing gene
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<li>References and sources to document your research.</li>
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in Microcystis aeruginosa. As dcas9 serves the purpose to block transcription,
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<li>Use illustrations and other visual resources to explain your project.</li>
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the transcription of the toxin-producing gene cannot be carried out. Hence the
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</ul>
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toxin-producing ability of M. aeruginosa is eliminated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:
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<div class="highlight decoration_A_full">
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EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
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<h3>Inspiration</h3>
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<p>See how other teams have described and presented their projects: </p>
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<ul>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>
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<li><a href="https://2016.igem.org/Team:Imperial_College/Description">2016 Imperial College</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://2016.igem.org/Team:Wageningen_UR/Description">2016 Wageningen UR</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:UC_Davis/Project_Overview"> 2014 UC Davis</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:SYSU-Software/Overview">2014 SYSU Software</a></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>
  
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">Bibliography:</p>
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<h3>Advice on writing your Project Description</h3>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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We encourage you to put up a lot of information and content on your wiki, but we also encourage you to include summaries as much as possible. If you think of the sections in your project description as the sections in a publication, you should try to be concise, accurate, and unambiguous in your achievements.  
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/on_lake_taihu_china_moves_to_battle_massive_algae_blooms">https://e360.yale.edu/features/on_lake_taihu_china_moves_to_battle_massive_algae_blooms</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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<h3>References</h3>
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11783-008-0062-4">https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11783-008-0062-4</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p>iGEM teams are encouraged to record references you use during the course of your research. They should be posted somewhere on your wiki so that judges and other visitors can see how you thought about your project and what works inspired you.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>
  
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229228/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229228/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
  
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15533019">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15533019</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28862419">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28862419</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
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Revision as of 05:35, 25 June 2019

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JUDGING FORM ⇗

iGEM 2019 description

 

Microcystis aeruginosa is one of the highly deleterious freshwater cyanobacteria; it is well-known for causing harmful algae blooms in rivers and lakes. These algae blooms produce a large number of microcystins and neurotoxins, which potentially leads to death of fish and human as well as contamination of fresh water. However, M. aeruginosa also poses ecological value in oxygen synthesis and absorption in heavy metal.

 

We can see how these cyanobacteria have such a significant impact on the aquatic system which could subject to adverse impacts on the aquatic ecosystem as a whole. Take Lake Taihu as an example; the algae blooms are a serious threat to drinking water supplies and agriculture supplies. Chinese ecologists and marine biologists describe the lake as the smell of decaying fish. In the United States, such harmful cyanobacterial algae blooms have inflicted around 2 billion USD a year in losses as the water is unfit for drinking, recreation and agriculture.

 

Through investigation on the cause of algae blooms, we found out that farmland and factories are usually built next to rivers and lakes, as water is vital for both agriculture and industrial uses. Since chemical fertilizers and sewage all contain nitrates and phosphates, this catalyzes the reproduction of cyanobacteria such as Microcystis Aeruginosa. However, we realized that limiting the use of fertilizers and the amount of sewage released from factories are impractical because this would affect the efficiency of production.

 

Therefore, instead of limiting the use of such fertilizers, our project not only aims to mutate M. aeruginosa through modifying its toxin-producing gene but also aims to characterize the cyanobacteria’s ability to absorb heavy metal. Dcas9 is transformed into and co-expressed in the toxin-producing gene in Microcystis aeruginosa. As dcas9 serves the purpose to block transcription, the transcription of the toxin-producing gene cannot be carried out. Hence the toxin-producing ability of M. aeruginosa is eliminated.

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography:

https://e360.yale.edu/features/on_lake_taihu_china_moves_to_battle_massive_algae_blooms

 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11783-008-0062-4

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229228/

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15533019

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28862419