Team:UCSC/Breakdown

Breakdown

There are three main types of cellulases: endoglucanases, exoglucanases, and Β-glucosidases.

We chose to transform Haloferax Volcanii with a Β-glucosidase. Β-glucosidase is vital because ionic liquids used in cellulose pretreatment assist degradation of cellulose, but not into monomers for Hvo to metabolize. Our pipeline was to collect data from different cellulases across various organisms, determine which are secreted, and decide which to try to codon optimize to transform into Hvo. We were able to successfully transform E.coli with our Β-glucosidase gene (gel), and we are currently working on trying to transform Hvo.

We would like to eventually engineer a cellulosome in order to effectively break down cellulose.



Swathi Balaji

  • Biomolecular Engineering
  • Bioinformatics minor
  • College Nine (UCSC)
  • 4th Year
  • Grant & Web Team
  • From: Pleasanton, CA

Anissa Benabbas

  • Biology
  • Bioinformatics minor
  • Crown College (UCSC)
  • Graduate (Post Bac)
  • Video Team
  • From: Sunnyvale, CA

Cristian Camacho

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    Crown College (UCSC)
    4th Year
    Grant & Video Team
    From: La Mirada, CA

Jairo Navarro

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    College Nine (UCSC)
    4th Year
    Grant, Programming, Video, &
    Web Team
    From: Watsonville, CA

John Poncini

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    College 8 (UCSC)
    4th Year
    Grant & Video Team
    From: Stockton, CA 

Tanvir Saini

  • Molecular, Cell, &
    Developmental Biology
    Bioinformatics minor
    Oakes College (UCSC)
    5th Year
    Webmaster, Graphic Design, Grant,
    Social Media & Video Team
    From: Simi Valley, CA

Roger Volden

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    College Eight (UCSC)
    3rd Year
    From: San Jose, CA

"I would undoubtedly say that I have gotten much more comfortable with the people I work with in lab, and it has definitely made me more productive and contribute more to everything that happens. I have definitely grown as a person because of iGEM, and I feel like I have become a better researcher, teammate, and friend because of it. Between all of the lunches, coffee runs, socials, and lab time, I would say that the UCSC iGEM team is like a second family to me. I know I'll always cherish the work that we've been doing and that I'll look back and know how it influenced me as a person."