Difference between revisions of "Team:BroadRun-NorthernVA/Design"

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<h2>Design</h2>
 
  
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By talking about your design work on this page, there is one medal criterion that you can attempt to meet, and one award that you can apply for. If your team is going for a gold medal by building a functional prototype, you should tell us what you did on this page. If you are going for the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Judging/Awards#SpecialPrizes">Applied Design award</a>, you should also complete this page and tell us what you did.
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<h2>Applied Design</h2>
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<h4>Note</h4>
 
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<p>In order to be considered for the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Judging/Awards#SpecialPrizes">Best Applied Design award</a> and/or the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Judging/Awards#Medals">functional prototype gold medal criterion</a>, you must fill out this page.</p>
 
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<p>This is a prize for the team that has developed a synthetic biology product to solve a real world problem in the most elegant way. The students will have considered how well the product addresses the problem versus other potential solutions, how the product integrates or disrupts other products and processes, and how its lifecycle can more broadly impact our lives and environments in positive and negative ways.</p>
 
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If you are working on art and design as your main project, please join the art and design track. If you are integrating art and design into the core of your main project, please apply for the award by completing this page.
 
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Armstrong, manufacturer of ceiling tiles and our iGEM sponsor, encountered a real world problem of the formation of a pungent substance called butyric acid in their ceiling tile manufacturing plants. Butyric acid, which can lead to unacceptable smells in their finished products of ceiling tiles, became a problem with  their move away from trees as raw ingredients to recycled paper products. (More details on the problem are detailed in Project/Problem page.)
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Armstrong’s manufacturing facility for producing ceiling tiles is a closed water system. Recycled paper in the system led to a high number of short chain cellulose fibers in the million gallon water system, providing nutrients for microbes to feed off in the system. Some bacteria strains produce butyric acid as a byproduct of anaerobic fermentation. Armstrong uses an oxygen pump to keep the million gallons water they have in an aerobic environment. Despite the use of aeration basins and pumps, the excess starch left in the water from the manufacturing process clogs the pump, preventing the oxygen from flowing through the water and resulting in an anaerobic environment. Their current solution to the problem is to incorporate biocides and chemicals into the water system, killing all forms of microbes in the system. This solution is harmful to the environment, expensive, and is only a short term solution, as inevitably the microbes grow back and begin producing butyric acid once more.
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When Armstrong presented us with this problem, we examined this issue from all sides to determine the best way to tackle it. We hypothesized several solutions that could
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<li>target the bacteria producing the butyric acid
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<li>break down the butyric acid down into esters
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<li>convert the butyric acid to butanol,
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<li>inhibit the butyric pathway or avert it to one of butanol, or
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<li>remove the excess starch in the water system.
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We weighed all of our options in terms of viability, feasibility, cost effectiveness, sustainability and environmentally safe. 
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Our solution was to engineer yeast cells to produce and secrete a starch degrading enzyme, amylase. We chose <i>S.cerevisiae</i> that can thrive in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, making it an ideal candidate for the fluctuating conditions of the water system. The alpha amylase secreted by the yeast will break down the starch, serving two purposes; removing the food source of the unwanted butyric acid-producing bacteria, and allowing the oxygen pump to stay unclogged, preventing the system from turning anaerobic. This solution will be cost effective and environmentally conscientious.
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Our genetically engineered yeast cells were highly successful in breaking down starch. We demonstrated this success with starch samples and water samples taken from Armstrong’s Lancaster, PA facility. We are continuing our work to quantify the efficiency and rate of starch conversion. In addition, we would like to improve the efficiency of the amylase gene construct so that our solution can be implemented on an industrial scale. Armstrong responded with the words ‘terrific’ and fantastic’ when we shared with them the results for our genetically engineered yeast.
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Revision as of 02:43, 17 September 2015

{{BroadRun-NorthernVA}}



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Applied Design

Armstrong, manufacturer of ceiling tiles and our iGEM sponsor, encountered a real world problem of the formation of a pungent substance called butyric acid in their ceiling tile manufacturing plants. Butyric acid, which can lead to unacceptable smells in their finished products of ceiling tiles, became a problem with their move away from trees as raw ingredients to recycled paper products. (More details on the problem are detailed in Project/Problem page.)

Armstrong’s manufacturing facility for producing ceiling tiles is a closed water system. Recycled paper in the system led to a high number of short chain cellulose fibers in the million gallon water system, providing nutrients for microbes to feed off in the system. Some bacteria strains produce butyric acid as a byproduct of anaerobic fermentation. Armstrong uses an oxygen pump to keep the million gallons water they have in an aerobic environment. Despite the use of aeration basins and pumps, the excess starch left in the water from the manufacturing process clogs the pump, preventing the oxygen from flowing through the water and resulting in an anaerobic environment. Their current solution to the problem is to incorporate biocides and chemicals into the water system, killing all forms of microbes in the system. This solution is harmful to the environment, expensive, and is only a short term solution, as inevitably the microbes grow back and begin producing butyric acid once more.

When Armstrong presented us with this problem, we examined this issue from all sides to determine the best way to tackle it. We hypothesized several solutions that could
  • target the bacteria producing the butyric acid
  • break down the butyric acid down into esters
  • convert the butyric acid to butanol,
  • inhibit the butyric pathway or avert it to one of butanol, or
  • remove the excess starch in the water system.


    • We weighed all of our options in terms of viability, feasibility, cost effectiveness, sustainability and environmentally safe.

    Our solution was to engineer yeast cells to produce and secrete a starch degrading enzyme, amylase. We chose S.cerevisiae that can thrive in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, making it an ideal candidate for the fluctuating conditions of the water system. The alpha amylase secreted by the yeast will break down the starch, serving two purposes; removing the food source of the unwanted butyric acid-producing bacteria, and allowing the oxygen pump to stay unclogged, preventing the system from turning anaerobic. This solution will be cost effective and environmentally conscientious.

    Our genetically engineered yeast cells were highly successful in breaking down starch. We demonstrated this success with starch samples and water samples taken from Armstrong’s Lancaster, PA facility. We are continuing our work to quantify the efficiency and rate of starch conversion. In addition, we would like to improve the efficiency of the amylase gene construct so that our solution can be implemented on an industrial scale. Armstrong responded with the words ‘terrific’ and fantastic’ when we shared with them the results for our genetically engineered yeast.