Team:Paris Bettencourt/Project/VitaminB12

Background

Aims

Results

Cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency is widely spread in India, due to diet that is mostly vegetarian. We aimed at introducing a high-level cobalamin producer to the rice batter. Tadaa.

Introduction

Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is a family of molecules that are involved in only two chemical reactions in humans. However a cobalamin deficiency can lead to troubles related to nervous system, brain and formation of blood. Diseases related to low blood levels of cobalamin include fatigue, depression, low red blood cells level and even sensory loss and infertility.
https://books.google.fr/books?id=b9ahvNjPFO8C&lpg=PA245&hl=fr&pg=PA246#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5226.long

Its production is extremely complicated. In the 60s and 70s, it took ten years and 72 steps to Woodward et al. and Eschemoser et al. to chemically synthesize it.
http://pac.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/1973/pdf/3301x0145.pdf
http://www.synarchive.com/syn/71
But this synthesis is costly and needs time. This is why cobalamin is produced by bacteria, the only living organisms that can produce it.

Ideas

Express the cobalamin biosynthesis pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum

Make Lactobacillus reuteri express a lot of cobalamin

Metabolic engineering

The pseudo-cobalamin problem

Use Propionibacterium freudenreichii

Advices for other teams

Conclusion

Click here to see our solution!