Albertans are a tough breed.
We are a land of ranchers, roughnecks, foresters, and farmers.
We have tilled the earth through unforgiving prairie winters and we have thrived while doing it.
Rough hands work the beautiful prairie landscapes painted yellow with budding canola.
We were inspired by the true grit of Albertan farmers who stand up to any challenge.
This is iGEM Calgary's contribution.
This is yOIL.
Canola oil is one of
Canada's leading exports. In 2017, the Canadian grown canola contributed
$26.7 billion to
the Canadian economy each year, including more than
$250,000 jobs and
$11.2 billion in wages
(Canadian Canola Council).
However, there is a threat.
The Green Seed Problem
As canola seeds mature, enzymes break down the green chlorophyll pigment resulting
in a mature brown seed. The "green seed problem" arises when canola plants are exposed
to frost, drought or other inclement weather before maturation is complete. The chlorophyll
degradation pathway is suspended and the seed remains green.
"Green is the difference between profit and loss."
Craig Shand
What is so bad about that?
Farmers lament the fact that their green canola seeds have to be sold
at a discount. Thus, a farmer like
Craig Shand is
forced to go from $10 per bushel to $7 per bushel on a hard earned harvest.
Downstream, canola oil crushers need to spend more money to remove chlorophyll from
the canola oil. This process is costly, and oil is lost in the process.
The green seed problem is a leech on the canola industry, stealing money out of the hands of farmers and oil producers.
With the same grit and dedication of our hard working Albertan farmers, we developed yOIL.
The Solution
yOIL is a multi-faceted attack on the green seed problem.
The system
utilizes
water-soluble-chlorophyll binding proteins
emulsified in water droplets
to remove chlorophyll molecules from oil.
The captured chlorophyll will then be
repurposed into pheophorbide, an experimental photosensitizer with potential as an
anti-fungal agent.
To address ambiguities that arise when farmers take their seeds to be graded, our team developed
a standardized seed grading platform, lovingly called "Mean Green Machine"
which automates the grading process. We took the Mean Green Machine (MGM) to The
Canadian Grain Commission where they gave us vital feedback to help move MGM closer to a fully-implemented product.
Inclement weather is what causes green seed, and knowing the weather lets farmers
make crucial decisions regarding their crop.
We cannot control the weather, but we can create tools to predict it. After all, everyone could use more Sunny Days.
Sunny Days is a
weather predictive algorithm based on Recurrent Neural Networks and Principal Component Analysis which was able to predict the weather 180 days into the future
with mean absolute error of 2.0 degrees.
An All-Encompassing Solution to the Green Seed Problem
We have worked tirelessly to bring yOIL to fruition. We have submitted 28 new parts to
the Biobrick registry. Created 7 models which informed our project design. And held
over 35 meetings with stakeholders. Not to mention the innumerable number of hours in the
lab (plus an extra 8 to travel to Boston).
After all is said and done. It is our privilege to present
https://www.canolacouncil.org/markets-stats/industry-overview/