Team:UCSC/Fermentation
Fermentation: Butanol
With our world’s rapid industrial growth and increasing globalization of the consumer market, we have created an energy crisis that our planet can’t sustain for much longer. Rising demand for high energy liquid fuel has only driven us further to our dependency on a resource that is quickly depleting around the world; this is of course fossil fuels. We must, as a single people, begin looking for a renewable or at a minimum a live carbon solution if we are to have any chance of preventing a global catastrophe that will endanger all that humanity has achieved in our brief existence. However the reality of the situation is that the technology and resources to rectify our predicament already exist and have so for several years. Bio-Butanol is a viable and greater alternative to current fossil fuels, due to bio-butanol’s carbon sequestering of today’s plants. Fossil fuels rely on atmospheric carbon that died millions of years ago while bio-butanol relies on sources that were grown within that year. Expansion of current methods could greatly reduce the impact and even slow the destruction of the planet, however if we hope to halt the issue definitively, we must take responsibility for our energy harvesting and use our technologies to their fullest potential. Existing bio-butanol production relies on an engineered Clostridium acetobutylicum that converts sugars into the desired 1-butanol, via its solventogenic pathway. However, as many researchers and industrialists have noted, working with the Clostridium has proven difficult due to its additional byproducts: butyrate, acetone, and ethanol making the control over the yield of butanol difficult. Along with a short and spore forming life cycle Clostridium is far from an excellent producer of butanol.
The aim was to produce butanol through this fermentation pathway. The focus was converting glucose to butanol by creating two fusion genes to complete the pathway from Butyryl Coa to Butanol. One from Shewanella and one consisting of native ACD and Aldy genes from HVO.
In addition, we wished to grow multiple cultures both aerobically and anaerobically, and at different pHs, to test solvent production without modification. We were looking for butyric acid and/or butanol in our samples.
García, V., Challenges in biobutanol production: How to improve the efficiency? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15, 964–980 (2011).
We were able to create one assembled fusion gene. We also designed multiple linkers (refer to parts) to complete the designed fusion gene.
| View our Notebook for our methodology that lead to our results. |
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Alonzo Lee 
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"I started this project nervous and afraid about my ability to not only perform in a laboratory setting but as a captain as well. Yet now that have gone through iGEM I have become both an experienced researcher and a decisive leader who is able to communicate with all levels. This project has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life and I only hope that in the future more potential researchers are able to live what I have lived. With new experiences, knowledge, and friends in hand I look back at back at my iGEM experience only wishing to live it once more." |
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Nina Sardesh 
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"iGEM has been a leadership experience like no other. The skills I have acquired from working with such a bright and diverse team have allowed me to become confident in my ability to manage, and the potential for me to start a business. I am extremely proud of the work we have done and our teamwork abilities. " |
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Sanusha Bijj 
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"Being apart of iGEM was more than just an experience. I was able to not only learn new lab techniques, but also learn how to fundraise, communicate, and think broader. My contribution to the team not only include lab work but publicizing our research through newspapers, writing grants, and writing thank-you letters. Two important qualities I learned from this experience were patience and communication. I can definitely say that this experience has prepped me to deal with the future research labs that I will encounter." |
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Jackson DeKloe 
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Vijay Jayant 
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""Aside from the valuable lab research experience and team building, the most rewarding aspect of iGEM for me was the ability to apply my extracurricular skills towards the project. From providing graphic design to helping with our crowdfunding video, this was the first time I have been able to get involved with a meaningful project from multiple angles. I am confident that I will be able to take what I have learned from iGEM and apply it to my future career path. "" |
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Isabel Madau 
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Derek Brekke 
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Fermentation: Ethanol
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Kassandra Colao 
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Megana Kunda 
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Kendal Prokopakis 
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