Team:LASATX
Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic colorless and odorless gas that results in thousands of fatalities a year, yet most detectors are based upon sight and sound that exclude the blind and the deaf. Furthermore, current sensors rely upon upon the presence of electricity and power, and are thus unable to act in scenarios of natural disasters when CO leaks are most likely.
This project introduces a CO-sensing mechanism into E.coli using a CooA transcription activator and corresponding pCooF promoter to regulate the expression of a methyl salicylate pathway (pchBA and BSMT genes). The pathway converts the endogenous molecule chorismate into salicylic acid and then methyl salicylate, producing a wintergreen smell in the presence of CO. This CO sensor has implications for not only the disabled, but also commercial use in cases of natural disaster due to its cost efficiency and transportability.
