Difference between revisions of "Team:Toulouse/Description/Eradicate"

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  <ul>
 
  <ul>
 
         <li><a href="#part1">Formate acaricide activity test</a></li>
 
         <li><a href="#part1">Formate acaricide activity test</a></li>
         <li><a href="#part2">How to synthesize formate with <i>E.coli</i>?</a></li>
+
         <li><a href="#part2">How to synthesize formate with <i>E. coli</i>?</a></li>
 
       </ul>
 
       </ul>
 
    
 
    
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         <p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
 
         <p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
  
After being attracted, varroas will have to be eliminated. Beekeepers already use some treatments to fight against varroa, among them oxalate, fluvalinate, thymol or formate. All these treatments use high doses which are toxic  
+
After being attracted, varroas will have to be eliminated. Beekeepers already use some treatments to fight against varroa, like oxalate, fluvalinate, thymol or formate. All these treatments use high doses which are toxic  
 
for bees and humans. Beside, varroa is developing resistance against some of these treatments,  
 
for bees and humans. Beside, varroa is developing resistance against some of these treatments,  
 
making them ineffective [1].
 
making them ineffective [1].
 
<br>
 
<br>
 
<br>
 
<br>
In the list of the molecules mentioned above, formate has already prove its acaricide property [2], and to our knowledge, no resistance has been reported yet. Formate also presents the advantage to be naturally synthesized by <i>E.coli</i>.
+
In the list of the molecules mentioned above, formate has already prove its acaricide property [2], and to our knowledge, no resistance has been reported yet. Formate also presents the advantage to be naturally synthesized by <i>E. coli</i> therefore is a natural molecule.
 
<br>
 
<br>
 
<br>
 
<br>
  
 
Here, the project main goal will be to synthesize formate at the lowest concentration allowing an efficient elimination of varroa in the trap. The  
 
Here, the project main goal will be to synthesize formate at the lowest concentration allowing an efficient elimination of varroa in the trap. The  
bacteria will produce formate during a defined periods, in order to reduce doses and minimize the toxicity on bees.
+
bacteria will produce formate during a defined period, in order to reduce doses and minimize the toxicity on bees.
 
  </p> <div id="part1"></div> <!-- ANCHOR 1 --> <p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;"></p>
 
  </p> <div id="part1"></div> <!-- ANCHOR 1 --> <p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;"></p>
 
 
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In this experiment, three varroas were placed in a Petri dish containing  
 
In this experiment, three varroas were placed in a Petri dish containing  
 
a cotton soaked with 400 µL of formate at different concentrations (50µM, 500µM, 1mM et 10mM). </p><div id="part2"></div> <!-- ANCHOR 2 --><p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
 
a cotton soaked with 400 µL of formate at different concentrations (50µM, 500µM, 1mM et 10mM). </p><div id="part2"></div> <!-- ANCHOR 2 --><p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
The experiment runs for 6h and varroa’s death was validated when it does not move anymore even  
+
The experiment ran for 6h and the varroas’ death was validated when no movement were detected even  
 
after a stimulus. The mite observation was performed with a binocular magnifier.
 
after a stimulus. The mite observation was performed with a binocular magnifier.
 
<br>
 
<br>
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<div class="subtitle" >    
 
<div class="subtitle" >    
<h3>How to synthesize formate with <i>E.coli</i>?</h3>
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<h3>How to synthesize formate with <i>E. coli</i>?</h3>
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
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  <p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
 
  <p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
Formate is a simple organic acid produced with an <i>E.coli</i> strain.  
+
Formate is a simple organic acid that can be produced with <i>E. coli</i>.  
 
The initial substrate, glucose, is decomposed into pyruvate during
 
The initial substrate, glucose, is decomposed into pyruvate during
  glycolysis, and formate is naturally synthesized thanks to two key
+
  glycolysis, and formate is naturally synthesized by two key
 
  genes:  
 
  genes:  
 
</p>
 
</p>
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<div class="group center">
 
<div class="group center">
 
<p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
 
<p align="justify" style="font-size:15px;">
The formate being naturally produced in <i>E. coli</i>, the key genes for synthesis were over-expressed. The genetic construction (<a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/b/bb/PUC57_-_Formate_synth.xdna.png"target="_blank">here</a>) was done by assembling of these genes, which were placed under the control of the P(Bla) constitutive promotor (BBa_I14018). Before the coding sequences,  ribosome binding sites (RBS)(BBa_B0030) were inserted to improve protein expression, and a strong terminator ended up the construction (BBa_B1006). We finally cloned this two genes and their RBS into a pSB1C3 vector (<a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/thumb/a/af/PSB1C3_Formate.xdna.png/715px-PSB1C3_Formate.xdna.png.jpeg"target="_blank">here</a>).
+
The key genes for formate synthesis were over-expressed. The genetic construction (<a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/b/bb/PUC57_-_Formate_synth.xdna.png"target="_blank">here</a>) was done by assembling the abovementioned genes, placed under the control of the P(Bla) constitutive promotor (BBa_I14018). RBS (BBa_B0030) were inserted to allow protein expression, and a strong terminator ended up the construction (BBa_B1006). We finally cloned these two genes and their RBS into a pSB1C3 vector (<a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/thumb/a/af/PSB1C3_Formate.xdna.png/715px-PSB1C3_Formate.xdna.png.jpeg"target="_blank">here</a>).
 
</p>
 
</p>
 
</div>
 
</div>

Revision as of 16:49, 18 September 2015

iGEM Toulouse 2015

Eradicate


Content


Treating Varroa destructor

After being attracted, varroas will have to be eliminated. Beekeepers already use some treatments to fight against varroa, like oxalate, fluvalinate, thymol or formate. All these treatments use high doses which are toxic for bees and humans. Beside, varroa is developing resistance against some of these treatments, making them ineffective [1].

In the list of the molecules mentioned above, formate has already prove its acaricide property [2], and to our knowledge, no resistance has been reported yet. Formate also presents the advantage to be naturally synthesized by E. coli therefore is a natural molecule.

Here, the project main goal will be to synthesize formate at the lowest concentration allowing an efficient elimination of varroa in the trap. The bacteria will produce formate during a defined period, in order to reduce doses and minimize the toxicity on bees.

Formate acaricide activity test


Before formate production by our strain, it was necessary to check the "miticide" activity of the molecule with a specific test. In this experiment, three varroas were placed in a Petri dish containing a cotton soaked with 400 µL of formate at different concentrations (50µM, 500µM, 1mM et 10mM).

The experiment ran for 6h and the varroas’ death was validated when no movement were detected even after a stimulus. The mite observation was performed with a binocular magnifier.

Figure 1: Formate miticide activity test

How to synthesize formate with E. coli?

Formate is a simple organic acid that can be produced with E. coli. The initial substrate, glucose, is decomposed into pyruvate during glycolysis, and formate is naturally synthesized by two key genes:

  • pflB (Accession Number: EG10701) encoding the pyruvate formate lyase which catalyzes the cleavage of pyruvate into C1 and C2. This enzyme is sensitive to oxygen and is only active in microaerobic or anaerobic conditions, which is the case within our device [3].
  • pflA (Accession Number: EG10028) encoding the pyruvate formate lyase activase, which is directly linked with the pyruvate formate lyase, enabling its activation [4].

Figure 3: Enzymatic reaction of the formate synthesis

The key genes for formate synthesis were over-expressed. The genetic construction (here) was done by assembling the abovementioned genes, placed under the control of the P(Bla) constitutive promotor (BBa_I14018). RBS (BBa_B0030) were inserted to allow protein expression, and a strong terminator ended up the construction (BBa_B1006). We finally cloned these two genes and their RBS into a pSB1C3 vector (here).

Formate pathway

READ MORE

References


  • [1] Elzen PJ, Baxter JR, Spivak M & Wilson WT (2000) Control of Varroa jacobsoni Oud. resistant to fluvalinate and amitraz using coumaphos. Apidologie 31: 5
  • [2]Satta A, Floris I, Eguaras M, Cabras P, Garau VL & Melis M (2005) Formic acid-based treatments for control of Varroa destructor in a Mediterranean area. J. Econ. Entomol. 98: 267–273
  • [3] Becker A, Fritz-Wolf K, Kabsch W, Knappe J, Schultz S & Volker Wagner AF (1999) Structure and mechanism of the glycyl radical enzyme pyruvate formate-lyase. Nat. Struct. Biol. 6: 969–975
  • [4] Crain AV & Broderick JB (2014) Pyruvate formate-lyase and its activation by pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme. J. Biol. Chem. 289: 5723–5729