Team:British Columbia/Objectives

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  • Beetle Epidemic
  • Monoterpene Production
  • Synthase Structure
• Human practices
  • Mentorship
  • Synthetic Biology Gone Wild
  • Public Perceptions
• Acknowledgements

Wet Lab

Production of Monoterpenes in Yeast

From an industrial perspective, this yeast will be cultured and harvested for monoterpenes, which will be analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Yeast is a highly utilized organism in industry (e.g. breweries and also the recently established Amyris biotech company that uses yeast to produce anti-Malarial therapeutics amongst other valuable compounds). We envision that monoterpene-producing yeast will not only be industrially profitable, but also help to alleviate the unsustainable consumption of nature's resources in the quest for biofuels, pharmaceuticals, flavours/fragrances etc.

From an environmental perspective, this yeast will be co-cultured with the bluestain fungus to determine if monoterpene-producing yeast is able to inhibit the growth of the fungus. This yeast is also a biological system that can be screened for potential targets against the fungus. For instance, since the yeast is actively producing monoterpenes, it is possible to look for yeast that have particular mutations that cause increased intolerance against monoterpenes. These mutations will reveal potential strategies against the fungus.

Monoterpene Synthases

Our goal is to express synthases that produce monoterpenes (specifically limonene, pinene, carene and cineole) in yeast. Genes encoding these synthases will be inserted into yeast gateway vectors as well as the biobrick plasmid PSB1C3.

Metabolic Genes

Our goal is to express metabolic enzymes (specifically, erg20-2, Idi1 and Hmg2) that optimize the mevalonate pathway in yeast for monoterpene production.

Characterization details here!

Modeling

Monoterpene Production in Yeast

Our goal is to develop a model to assay the secretion and production of monoterpenes in yeast.

Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic

Our goal is to construct a mathematical model that can predict the dynamics of the mountain pine beetle populations in B.C. under the influence of our synthetic product. This model can be coupled with the strategic planning for future conservation initiatives.

Modeling details here!

Human Practices

1. Build bridges between individuals, communities and countries.

• The focus is not ourselves, but bridging the gap between researchers in synthetic biology and people outside the field.

2. Actively seek out mutually transforming relationships.

• We do not want a one-way relationship - we want symbiosis!

• We aim to learn as much as we teach.

3. Use multimedia tools to reach the community in an engaging way.

• We want to share our enthusiasm for our iGEM project and inspire people to see how this technology can serve their unique passions

• Outreach at Science World

• Deploy iGEM outreach resources (http://openwetware.org/wiki/IGEM_Outreach)

4. Create a universal accessible iGEM language

• Compile an iGEM dictionary for synthetic biology and iGEM specific terms

• Collaborate with other iGEM teams

5. Invest in the FUTURE and pursue sustainable projects

• Live in a way that incorporates those outside the lab into our comfort zone and personal passions for research, iGEM and synthetic biology.

• Start a high school iGEM team and mentor students participating in the Future Leaders in Science program at Science World * Inform UBC students about our project and iGEM club at Clubs Day and Imagine Week * Recruit new team members for next year! Multimedia and outreach details here!