Difference between revisions of "Team:Lethbridge HS"
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<h2> Welcome to iGEM 2015! </h2> | <h2> Welcome to iGEM 2015! </h2> | ||
| − | <p> | + | <p>The top 100 food crops produced provide 90% of the world’s nutrition. 70% of these crops are pollinated by bees. A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has decimated honeybee colonies across the world, halving the number of productive colonies worldwide. One of the main factors hypothesized to contribute to CCD is the mite and viral vector Varroa destructor. While feeding on the bee’s hemolymph, Varroa destructor expels RNA viruses into the bee crippling colony’s strength. Current commercial methods to eradicate Varroa have seen a gradual development of resistance in treated populations. Using synthetic biology, we plan to target Varroa more effectively by directly delivering the miticide, oxalic acid into Varroa and utilizing RNA interference to eliminate Varroa populations within commercial hives.<br><br> |
| − | + | Our next goal is to eradicate biofilms. For years, bacterial biofilms have been a cause for concern in medicine. Biofilms are comprised of colonial microorganisms that can adhere to almost any surface with adequate moisture and nutrients. Biofilms often harbour pathogens, and can be extremely problematic in clinical settings. 65% of all hospital acquired infections can be attributed to pathogenic biofilms. Current methods to destroy biofilms include antimicrobial agents and hydraulic flushing. These are ineffective because biofilms are surrounded by a matrix of sugars and DNA. We intend to create an all-purpose biological counterattack capable of dispersing and eliminating a wide variety of biofilms by utilizing enzymes to destroy the structures within. This will be achieved through the secretion of dextranase, which degrades the exopolymeric matrix, and DNase, that targets the extracellular DNA responsible for maintaining biofilm structure. This double phased attack will be highly efficient compared to current removal methods. | |
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Revision as of 07:27, 14 July 2015
Welcome to iGEM 2015!
The top 100 food crops produced provide 90% of the world’s nutrition. 70% of these crops are pollinated by bees. A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has decimated honeybee colonies across the world, halving the number of productive colonies worldwide. One of the main factors hypothesized to contribute to CCD is the mite and viral vector Varroa destructor. While feeding on the bee’s hemolymph, Varroa destructor expels RNA viruses into the bee crippling colony’s strength. Current commercial methods to eradicate Varroa have seen a gradual development of resistance in treated populations. Using synthetic biology, we plan to target Varroa more effectively by directly delivering the miticide, oxalic acid into Varroa and utilizing RNA interference to eliminate Varroa populations within commercial hives.
Our next goal is to eradicate biofilms. For years, bacterial biofilms have been a cause for concern in medicine. Biofilms are comprised of colonial microorganisms that can adhere to almost any surface with adequate moisture and nutrients. Biofilms often harbour pathogens, and can be extremely problematic in clinical settings. 65% of all hospital acquired infections can be attributed to pathogenic biofilms. Current methods to destroy biofilms include antimicrobial agents and hydraulic flushing. These are ineffective because biofilms are surrounded by a matrix of sugars and DNA. We intend to create an all-purpose biological counterattack capable of dispersing and eliminating a wide variety of biofilms by utilizing enzymes to destroy the structures within. This will be achieved through the secretion of dextranase, which degrades the exopolymeric matrix, and DNase, that targets the extracellular DNA responsible for maintaining biofilm structure. This double phased attack will be highly efficient compared to current removal methods.