Innovate 2 Serve: iGEM Team of High School Researchers and Scientists Helping to Clean Our Waters

How I Serve

I search for emerging companies, technologies, disruptive technologies,

innovations, start-ups and up-starts. I’ll look to match potential problems…

e.g. “plastic pollution” to solutions… e.g. 3D Printer for recycled plastic waste…

for potential venture capitalists, angel investors, and online funders.

I’ll also highlight a variety of topics including funding success stories,

the environment, housing, medical, artificial intelligence, science,

aging populations, disabled populations, social entrepreneurs, philanthropy,

and topical news. I’m always searching for great people innovating,

inventing, and doing, great things.

The 411: Successfully Funded (but don't stop donating) - "Their goal is to continue in the efforts of improving their ribo-switch to effectively and efficiently detect other water impurities hopefully to improve water quality conditions for individuals world-wide! Their excitement and dedication is intoxicating!"

Found on: https://experiment.com/projects/genetically-engineering-bacteria-to-measure-and-sequester-fluoride-to-clean-our-waters?s=discover

We are the ECHHS iGem team! Last year, we successfully tested a plasmid that identifies fluoride bioswitches. We won an award at iGem, the largest synthetic biology competition. This year's project will expand on our results. Our main hypothesis is if we find an effective fluoride riboswitch, than we can use it so sequester, bioremediate, and detect fluoride. Our team needs help to cover the competition registration fees & pay for lab materials.

Ask the Scientists

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What is the context of this research?

Excess fluoride in water can cause severe health defects, such as dental and skeletal fluorosis (teeth and bones decay), as well as developmental and reproductive issues. Especially in poorer countries, where there's often erosion of sediments or volcanic rocks, toxic fluoride concentrations can have severe repercussions. Our team successfully designed a system, called the "Fluoride Riboswitch Regulated Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase Operon" (CHOP), to characterize the responsiveness of fluoride riboswitches. This system allows bacteria to grow only in the presence of fluoride. It can be used to identify riboswitches with higher responsiveness to fluoride. However, the CHOP system is only the beginning. This summer, we will use the CHOP to combat excess fluoridation.

What is the significance of this project?

Fluoride is present in all bodies of water: oceans, rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Erosion of sediments or volcanic rocks contributes to higher levels of fluoride. Exposure to more than 6mg of fluoride everyday can be toxic, and lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis, which is the decay of teeth and bones. Doses of fluoride that result in 4.5mg/kg body weight can cause developmental and reproductive concerns and affect the growth as well as mental development of people.

What are the goals of the project?

Last year we successfully tested a DNA system called CHOP that we cloned into E. coli. Bacteria with the CHOP DNA system only grow on plates with fluoride. We also added a antibiotic chloramphenicol resistant gene, so only E. coli that have the CHOP DNA system successfully inserted will grow. For this year's project we plan to modify our CHOP system to bioremediate fluoride.

This summer, we will use our CHOP system to identify more effective fluoride riboswitches with a higher affinity to fluoride. From there, we can use the riboswitch to control the enzymes that metabolize fluoride. This will work to bioremediate fluoride.

Budget

By contributing to our campaign we will include you or your company/organization on our posters, team wiki, and t-shirts. We will keep you updated on our research progress through lab notes on our Experiment page and share our final wiki with you when we go to the competition

Registration fee

$1,000

Lab equipment such as pipettes, plates, bacteria,

$500

Endorsed by

The East iGem Team will again focus on using ribo-switches to assess water quality. Last year the team successfully created a fluoride sensitive ribo-switch in bacteria to detect fluoride levels, which earned them the "Most Innovative Measurement" award at the iGem Giant Jamboree. Their goal is to continue in the efforts of improving their ribo-switch to effectively and efficiently detect other water impurities hopefully to improve water quality conditions for individuals world-wide! Their excitement and dedication is intoxicating!