Team ChemBiological Water Filtration

Purification Process

• Add cells to possibly contaminated water

• Cells take in arsenic and store it

• Cells provide an output (color) signaling the water is clean or needs further processing

• Separate of cells from water

• Possibility for further processing

Devices

• 2 Arsenic Sensors– Sensitive: activated by any arsenic – Non-sensitive: activated by maximum

tolerable arsenic level

• 2 Color Generators

• Arsenic Transport and Storage Device

Arsenic Transport and Storage

Remove the gene that encodes this transport protein

Tripathi, R.D., Srivastava, S., Mishra, S., Singh, N., Tuli, R., Gupta, D.K. and Maathuis, F. Arsenic Hazards: Strategies for Tolerance and Remediation by Plants. Trends in Biotechnology. 2007, 25.4, 158-165.

Arsenic Measurement

Device Level Diagram

Color Generator 1

(constitutively active)

Sensitive Arsenic Sensor

Non-Sensitive Arsenic Sensor Color Generator 2

Arsenic Transport and Storage Device

(constitutively active)

Where is Concentration

Read?

Outside Vacuole

Inside Vacuole or

with a Timer

Simulation: Pure Water

Green Color Generator

(constitutively active)

Sensitive Arsenic Sensor

Non-Sensitive Arsenic Sensor Red Color Generator

Arsenic Transport and Storage Device

(constitutively active)

Result: Cells Stay Green → Separation

Simulation: Maximum Arsenic

Result: Cells Turn Red → Separate and Process Again

Green Color Generator

(constitutively active)

Sensitive Arsenic Sensor

Non-Sensitive Arsenic Sensor Red Color Generator

Arsenic Transport and Storage Device

(constitutively active)

As As MAXIMUM

ARSENIC

Timing Diagram: Maximum Arsenic

0

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

Green Color Generator

Sensitive [As] Sensor

Transport and Storage

Non- Sensitive

[As] Sensor

Red Color Generator

t=0No Arsenic

Contaminated Water Added

Midlevel [As] Maximum [As]

Timing Diagram: Midlevel Arsenic

0

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

Green Color Generator

Sensitive [As] Sensor

Transport and Storage

Non- Sensitive

[As] Sensor

Red Color Generator

t=0No Arsenic

Contaminated Water Added

Midlevel [As] Maximum [As]

Biological PartsBackground System

ARR2ARR1

Biological PartsControl System

YCF1YCF1 GSH1GSH1

RCGD:BBa_K274100

RCGD:BBa_K274100

GCGD:BBa_K274004

GCGD:BBa_K274004

X-RepressorX-Repressor

[As]

P(x)

P(y)

P(z)Y-RepressorY-Repressor

[As]max

Cellular Chassis

[Source:http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/nlc_biology/1406/lab/r2/slide6.jpg]

[Source: http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/eldde.htm]

Testing/Debugging• Cell Death

– Effectiveness of ARR1, ARR1, YCF1, GSH1

• Need to determine Vacuole limits

• Testing Color Generators

• Promoter Design

[Source: http://www.sciencephoto.com/images/]

Global Impacts

Impacts

If this process succeeds:

• Solves one of the most problematic issues of the developing world, saving millions of lives. – 70 million people are affected in

Bangladesh alone - arsenic in ground water is the cause of 23% of all the deaths there!

Why Biological Water Filtration by Team Chemistry?

• No energy requirement (operates independent of electricity)– Accessibility to effective water filtration

technology even in rural parts of the developing world

• Very low cost of sustaining system

• The end product is not a waste– Possibility of selling to pharmaceutical companies

and turning a profit

Open Issues

• Elodea is the current choice of organism– Common water weed: robust, packaged for

surviving in water• The cost of entire project is unknown.• Legal issues attached to introducing

genetically modified organisms into the environment?

• Length of effectiveness is unknown – (How long until the organism reaches max arsenic

uptake capacity?)• The process of genetically modifying plants is

very slow…

Go/ No Go?

Citations

• Saccharomyces Genome Database www.yeastgenome.org

• Standard Registry of Biological Parts www.partregistry.org