Team:Berkeley

From 2013.igem.org

(Difference between revisions)
 
(35 intermediate revisions not shown)
Line 5: Line 5:
         <div id="navbar">
         <div id="navbar">
             <ul class="nav">
             <ul class="nav">
-
                 <li id="TitleID"> <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Berkeley">Project Blue Genes</a>  
+
                 <li id="TitleID"> <a id="TitleID" href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Berkeley">Project Blue Genes</a>  
                 </li>
                 </li>
                 <li><a href="#1">Introductory Slides</a>
                 <li><a href="#1">Introductory Slides</a>
Line 34: Line 34:
                 </li>
                 </li>
                 <li>
                 <li>
-
                     <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/f/f2/Slider4_for_inspiration.png" />
+
                     <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/9/91/SliderMinus00-01.png" />
 +
                </li>
 +
<li>
 +
                    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/9/9d/SliderMinus1-01.png" />
                 </li>
                 </li>
             </ul>
             </ul>
Line 40: Line 43:
         <div class="inner-content">
         <div class="inner-content">
             <div id="2">
             <div id="2">
-
                 <div class="heading"><a name="Project Description">&nbsp;&nbsp;Project Description</a>
+
                 <div class="heading"><a >Project Description</a>
                 </div>
                 </div>
-
                 <p>Many of the major advances in synthetic biology involve the ability to use microorganisms to synthesize compounds that are difficult or costly to produce chemically. Our team hopes to exploit this familiar application of synthetic biology to achieve an alternative indigo dyeing process.</p>
+
                 <p>The industrial dyeing process is ecologically unfriendly - indigo is made from an oil derivative (benzene) using harsh chemicals and extremely high temperatures. Furthermore, for indigo to actually adhere to fabric, a reducing agent is necessary to solubilize the dye, and this process releases acidified wastewaters into local environments. </p> <p>Research has shown that the leaves of indigo-producing plants contain two enzymes, a glucosyltransferase (GT) and a glucosidase (GLU), which together control indigo solubility by interconverting indigo with a soluble form called indican. We propose a biological dyeing method that harnesses this pathway in a bacterial chassis. </p><p> For the first time, indican has been produced using a recombinant GT as a result of our work. We prove indican irreversibly dyes fabric with the use of a GLU. Lastly, we have examined  ways to reduce our new system’s costs by optimizing indoxyl (an indican precursor) production and taking into account other innovative design choices.</p><p><b> Our work has created an entirely new way to dye denim with purely biological inputs which, with continued optimization, could compete economically with current industrial methods.</b>
-
                <p>Indigo, the dye used to make blue jeans around the world, is produced in quantities of tens of thousands of tons every year. The chemical process involves converting vast quantities of aniline into indigo. Because indigo is extremely insoluble in water, this product must be reduced to leuco-indigo, a white soluble substance, using sodium dithionite. This process relies on harsh acids, bases and reducing agents.</p>
+
</p><p> <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Berkeley/Project/Introduction">Read on</a> to learn more about our nature-inspired system!</p>
-
                <p>Drawing inspiration from plant-based indigo dyeing methods, we propose a more sustainable dyeing method using a chemical called indican as an alternative to leuco-indigo. Read on to learn more about our nature-inspired system!</p>
+
                 <p>Follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/berkeleyigem2013" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.3martinilunches.com/Portals/206831/images/facebook_logo.png" style="max-height:35px" /></a>  
                 <p>Follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/berkeleyigem2013" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.3martinilunches.com/Portals/206831/images/facebook_logo.png" style="max-height:35px" /></a>  
                 </p>
                 </p>
Line 68: Line 70:
</a>  
</a>  
         </div>
         </div>
-
 
<script>  
<script>  
-
var offset = 80;
+
var offset = 54;
-
 
+
$('#navbar li a').click(function(event) {
-
$('#nav li a').click(function(event) {
+
if ( ($(this).attr('id')) == 'TitleID') {
 +
return;
 +
}
 +
else {
     event.preventDefault();
     event.preventDefault();
     $($(this).attr('href'))[0].scrollIntoView();
     $($(this).attr('href'))[0].scrollIntoView();
     scrollBy(0, -offset);
     scrollBy(0, -offset);
 +
}
});
});
-
</script>
 
 +
</script>
</html>
</html>

Latest revision as of 03:51, 29 October 2013

Project Blue Genes
Project Description

The industrial dyeing process is ecologically unfriendly - indigo is made from an oil derivative (benzene) using harsh chemicals and extremely high temperatures. Furthermore, for indigo to actually adhere to fabric, a reducing agent is necessary to solubilize the dye, and this process releases acidified wastewaters into local environments.

Research has shown that the leaves of indigo-producing plants contain two enzymes, a glucosyltransferase (GT) and a glucosidase (GLU), which together control indigo solubility by interconverting indigo with a soluble form called indican. We propose a biological dyeing method that harnesses this pathway in a bacterial chassis.

For the first time, indican has been produced using a recombinant GT as a result of our work. We prove indican irreversibly dyes fabric with the use of a GLU. Lastly, we have examined ways to reduce our new system’s costs by optimizing indoxyl (an indican precursor) production and taking into account other innovative design choices.

Our work has created an entirely new way to dye denim with purely biological inputs which, with continued optimization, could compete economically with current industrial methods.

Read on to learn more about our nature-inspired system!

Follow us on

  Acknowledgements

The UC Berkeley iGEM team would like to thank Autodesk, Agilent, Synthetic Biology Institute, Qualcomm, Dean A. Richard Newton Memorial Chair for their financial support, IDT for discounted oligos and Quintara Bio for discounted sequencing service.

getting code to count
Visitors

Retrieved from "http://2013.igem.org/Team:Berkeley"