Team:Queens Canada/Side/Biodegradation

Upon discovering that a bacterium, Pseudomonas putida, has the ability to degrade naphthalene through a specialized pathway, we worked on a proposed construct that serves as a thought experiment on the ability of C. elegans to acquire biodegradation capability. The P. putida pathway is extensive, however, we propose that with enough time and resources, the entire pathway could be engineered in C. elegans to allow the worm to eat up naphthalene.

Biodegradation refers to the breakdown of substances mediated by bacteria or biological processes. The breakdown of environmental pollutants has become a large issue, as current events have increased public awareness concerning environmental sustainability. Microbes have been researched as a potential technology for cleaning contaminated environments due to the fact that many contain xenobiotic metabolisms. Recently, the bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis has gained much attention for its use in the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The bacterium uses alkanes as a primary source of energy, breaking down many of the components of crude oil into harmless smaller compounds.

The components of crude oil are considered pollutants due to their adverse effects on organisms. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), for example, integrate themselves into the cell membrane, acting as a solvent and disrupting cell functions. Mine tailings also have considerable potential to negatively affect the environment, as they contain mixtures of heavy metals, poisonous chemicals, and hydrocarbons.

Although microbes have up until now been studied as the most viable forms of biodegradation, QGEM 2011 has envisioned this process being carried out by larger organisms such as C.elegans. It was found that C.elegans has natural defenses against heavy metals and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenys) and that certain PAHs showed evidence of low toxicity in the worm at low concentrations. These findings spurred our imagination as to the potential of having a multicellular eukaryotic organism used in the bioremediation process.