Team:OLS Canmore AB CA/Description
Project Description |
This year our team chose to tackle the hairy global problem of keratin waste build-up. We are working to solve this issue by constructing a keratinase-expressing E. coli system that will break down the keratin protein, leading to the rapid degradation of both hair and feathers in industrial waste streams. |
The reason that both hair and feathers present waste-management problems is that they are made up of the same protein: keratin. Keratin is one of the strongest proteins found in nature due to its hydrogen bonds, disulphide bonds, and its tightly wrapped helixes (1), or parallel sheets of polypeptide chains with amino acids (3). Keratinase is a proteolytic enzyme that is capable of breaking the strong bonds that hold keratin together. In nature, keratinases are expressed in a variety of organisms, including bacteria and fungi, which exist in many different habitats. These habitats include Antarctic soils, soybean waste, Mediterranean Sea, solfataric muds, polluted rivers, and hot springs (2). The current understanding of keratinase shows the Bacillus genera to be the most prominent natural Keratanase producers (2). |
Our inspiration to tackle the issue of hair and feather build came from a cartoon that was published in our local paper entitled “The Epic Poo Race”. This cartoon was published as a funny way to educate the public about the issue that was affecting our town. Hair being flushed into wastewater treatment systems was getting tangled and trapped to the point of restricting the flow of sewage. |
From visiting our local waste water treatment plant we learnt the following. These build-ups of hair can be so damaging that they can stop pumps from working leading to backup, blockages, and the breakage of many wastewater treatment components costing millions in repairs. Perhaps the worst thing about this issue is how the hair is currently removed from the waste treatment facilities. These clogs, no matter their size, must be removed manually by the unlucky worker given this terrible task. Our team knew there must be a better way to tackle this problem. Of course, we thought that synthetic biology would be the perfect answer to this problem. |
Further research into keratin problem led to our discovery of the issue of feather waste accumulation in the poultry industry. Currently, 8.8 billion tones of feather waste is produced throughout the world each year (1). Feathers take 5 to 7 years to break down naturally (1), and significant costs are associated with the more efficient methods to dispose of the feather waste. Most commonly, feathers are disposed of by burning the waste, which releases harmful pollutants, creates foul odours, can lead to the contamination of livestock and plants in surrounding areas (8). Burying the waste is an alternative method of disposal, which leads to harmful leachate, thus leaving the surrounding land compromised (8). Since feathers are a good source of protein, turning the feather waste product into animal feed or fertilizer is an exciting option, though this process is often too cost-prohibitive and time consuming (8). Furthermore, the products produced are not of high quality (8). Keratin waste also has the potential be turned into other useful products such as biodegradable plastics (4) Fertilizer (5) Detergents (6) and pharmaceuticals (7) but the methods prove to be expensive and therefore, are under-utilized. |