Difference between revisions of "Team:Macquarie Australia/Description"
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<h2>Project Description</h2> | <h2>Project Description</h2> | ||
<h4>The Looming Energy Crisis</h4> | <h4>The Looming Energy Crisis</h4> | ||
− | <p>The global population currently faces a looming energy crisis | + | <p>The global population currently faces a looming energy crisis (Armaroli and Balzani, 2011; Kessel, 2000). |
− | Fossil fuels - the traditional sources of energy used to facilitate human civilisation - are dwindling in supply | + | Fossil fuels - the traditional sources of energy used to facilitate human civilisation - are dwindling in supply (Armaroli and Balzani, 2011). |
Therefore, alternative energy sources must be discovered and developed in order to achieve future energy security.</p> | Therefore, alternative energy sources must be discovered and developed in order to achieve future energy security.</p> | ||
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<h4>Attempted Solutions</h4> | <h4>Attempted Solutions</h4> | ||
− | <p>Renewable energy technologies which indirectly harness the power of the sun - such as wind and wave power - are currently utilised all around the world in varying degrees< | + | <p>Renewable energy technologies which indirectly harness the power of the sun - such as wind and wave power - are currently utilised all around the world in varying degrees (Kessel, 2000; Ellabban <i>et al</i>., 2014). |
− | It is also increasingly popular to directly harness solar power by converting light energy to electrical energy in solar cells< | + | It is also increasingly popular to directly harness solar power by converting light energy to electrical energy in solar cells (Ellabban <i>et al</i>., 2014). |
However, there are issues associated with the implementation of this technology such as the energy-expensive nature of solar cell and battery construction and maintenance.</p> | However, there are issues associated with the implementation of this technology such as the energy-expensive nature of solar cell and battery construction and maintenance.</p> | ||
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<p>It's well known that photosynthesis is nature's own way of converting light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose. | <p>It's well known that photosynthesis is nature's own way of converting light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose. | ||
The goal of Macquarie University's 2015 iGEM team - the Solar Synthesisers - is to utilise the solar-harnessing powers of chlorophyll and photosystem II, in order to produce an environmentally friendly and renewable source of chemical energy, namely Hydrogen gas. | The goal of Macquarie University's 2015 iGEM team - the Solar Synthesisers - is to utilise the solar-harnessing powers of chlorophyll and photosystem II, in order to produce an environmentally friendly and renewable source of chemical energy, namely Hydrogen gas. | ||
− | When combusted Hydrogen gas produces only water and energy - this is highly desirable from an environmental perspective | + | When combusted Hydrogen gas produces only water and energy - this is highly desirable from an environmental perspective (Altork and Busby, 2010).</p> |
<h4>The Solar Synthesisers’ Project</h4> | <h4>The Solar Synthesisers’ Project</h4> |
Revision as of 01:35, 19 September 2015
![Project page](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/0/07/NDproj2test.jpeg)
Project Description
The Looming Energy Crisis
The global population currently faces a looming energy crisis (Armaroli and Balzani, 2011; Kessel, 2000). Fossil fuels - the traditional sources of energy used to facilitate human civilisation - are dwindling in supply (Armaroli and Balzani, 2011). Therefore, alternative energy sources must be discovered and developed in order to achieve future energy security.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f5/MqiGEM2332.jpg)
Attempted Solutions
Renewable energy technologies which indirectly harness the power of the sun - such as wind and wave power - are currently utilised all around the world in varying degrees (Kessel, 2000; Ellabban et al., 2014). It is also increasingly popular to directly harness solar power by converting light energy to electrical energy in solar cells (Ellabban et al., 2014). However, there are issues associated with the implementation of this technology such as the energy-expensive nature of solar cell and battery construction and maintenance.
Photosynthesis - Nature’s Answer to the Problem
It's well known that photosynthesis is nature's own way of converting light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose. The goal of Macquarie University's 2015 iGEM team - the Solar Synthesisers - is to utilise the solar-harnessing powers of chlorophyll and photosystem II, in order to produce an environmentally friendly and renewable source of chemical energy, namely Hydrogen gas. When combusted Hydrogen gas produces only water and energy - this is highly desirable from an environmental perspective (Altork and Busby, 2010).
The Solar Synthesisers’ Project
To achieve this goal we're building on the work of last year's Macquarie University iGEM team by transforming E. coli with the genes required to complete the chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway and create photosystem II in this bacterial species. These systems will allow for the use of solar energy to split water into positively-charged hydrogen ions, electrons, and oxygen. Our next goal is then to combine the hydrogen ions and electrons produced in this hydrolytic process in a hydrogenase enzyme complex, in order to produce hydrogen gas on industrial scale. Hence, in order to produce a renewable and environmentally-friendly source of energy we present the Solar Synthesisers’ 3 step plan: Capture, Transfer and Synthesise!
![Project Overview diagram](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/80/MqAust_ProjectDescAllDiagrams.png)
Capture
In order to capture light energy from the sun, we aim to use chlorophyll pigment to capture photons. We aim to transform and express within E. coli the 13 genes required to complete the chlorophyll synthesis pathway in this species.
Transfer
In photosystem II the energy captured by the chlorophylls is used to split water into protons, electrons, and molecular oxygen.
Synthesise
The next step is the combination of two protons and two electrons in a hydrogenase enzyme complex to synthesise hydrogen gas. The commercially-viable production of industrial quantities of hydrogen gas will represent the successful completion of our project.
What is new from last year?
First, we are all new to iGEM!! The full team was only assembled at the end of July 2015, as a capstone class for our Biomolecular sciences major. We completed the genes within the Chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway. We started, and constructed 14 out of the 17 Photosystem-II genes into biobricks. We modelled the conversion of ALA to PPIX in E. coli, and the production of hydrogen gas using PSII.
Experimental Organism - Why E. coli?
Rather than engineering a naturally-photosynthetic organism and individually targeting genes in a pathway, we chose E. coli as our experimental host so we could engineer an entire novel metabolic pathway of our own design. Using E. coli as our host allowed us to incorporate the somewhat large and complex chlorophyll-a biosynthesis pathway, comprising 13 genes, as well as all 17 genes comprising PSII. Incorporation of both pathways in the robust and fast-growing E. coli host provides us with a valuable tool with ‘plug-and-play’ capabilities that allow for further future downstream potentials such as re-engineering the pathway to produce other members of the chlorophyll family.
References
- Armaroli, N. & Balzani, V. (2011). The hydrogen issue. ChemSusChem, 4: 21–36.
- Kessel, D.G. (2000). Global warming: facts, assessment, countermeasures. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 26: 157–168.
- Ellabban, O., Abu-Rub, H. & Blaabjerg, F. (2014). Renewable energy resources: current status, future prospects and their enabling technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39, 748–764. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.113.
- Altork, L.N. & Busby, J. R. (2010). Hydrogen fuel cells: part of the solution. Technology and Engineering Teacher, 70(2), 22-27.