Team:Bordeaux

Italic text

IGEM Bordeaux 2015

IGEM Bordeaux 2015

Cur'd Vine


Problem

We all love wine , right?

France is the first producers and exporters of wine, representing approximately 16% of the world's production. In fact, Aquitaine is one of the 4 regions which produces the most wine. However, vineyards are threatened by an oomycete called Plasmopara viticola , otherwise known as Downy Mildew which affects the quality of wine by causing irreparable damages to grapevine organs. This microorganism infects the grapevine’s tissues, particularly it's leaves, draining the plant’s resources and preventing its photosynthetic capacities.

The most common preventive treatment used by vineyards in the region is called « bouillie bordelaise » and is composed of copper sulfate , a product which has toxic effects on the surrounding soil. Although this treatment is efficient and does help to protect the plant from harmful microorganisms, this method has a bad environmental and sanitary impact since the copper present in the treatment infiltrates in the ground and prevents the growth of other types of plants, therefore impacting the biodiversity of the region. Furthermore, long term contact with these chemical components can create symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, or renal/hepatic dysfunctions for those living in these contaminated areas.

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Solution

This year, iGEM Bordeaux proposes an eco-friendly alternative treatment to prevent Downy Mildew: replacing copper sulfate by Curdlan , a sugar biopolymer which stimulates the plant's immune system . But what does that mean?
Actually, the plant naturally defends itself against pathogens through two distinct levels of immunity, a specific and non specific imunity which both cause a depolarization of the infected cell membrane and triggers the production of antimicrobial metabolites. Curdlan is recognised by the non specific immune system and activates it, with mechanisms similar to modern day vaccines.
The production of our molecule will be done using non-pathogenic micro-organisms which can easily be grown in our lab: Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . These are two microorganisms commonly used in synthetic biology and that are amongst the most well known organisms on the planet.

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Sponsors


On behalf of the entire team, we would like to thank our sponsors for allowing us to build this project and present it at the 2015 edition of the Internationnal Genetically Engineered Machine competition! Also we would like to thank our donators!







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