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Project GluE coli

This project aims to produce the mussel adhesion proteins (MAPs) that mussels employ to anchor themselves to the environment. Mussel adhesive proteins have amassed much attention as a potential adhesive for biomedical, underwater and other commercially relevant applications. Mussel adhesive proteins are also sought for their biodegradability, biocompatibility and ability to adhere to various substrates. However, production of mussel adhesive proteins proves to be an arduous task. Extraction-based production and in-vitro based production are expensive, inefficient, and unsustainable. Thus, our team focused on improving the efficiency of in-vivo production of MAPs. MAPs derive their adhesive properties from the hydroxylation of tyrosine to L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) then to dopaquinone. This project aims to reprogram the amber stop codon (TAG) to incorporate the uncanonical amino acid L-DOPA. In turn, this technique provides tighter control of L-DOPA incorporation whereas previous in-vivo projects depended on post-translational modification of tyrosines. Our team aims to develop the technology for large-scale MAP production in E. coli that will ultimately allow for rapid, cost-effective, and commercially viable production of an adhesive for biomedical applications.

Project D. odori

As long animals have been domesticated, farmers have sought a solution to decreasing odor emissions with a close eye on cost-effectiveness. In swine manure, the worst culprit is the compound p-cresol. To remedy this, UT iGEM is using engineered E. coli to degrade p-cresol down to Acetyl-CoA and pyruvate, two potential carbon sources for our bacteria to use for growth. Using directed evolution, strains with a high efficiency of degradation and the ability to use p-cresol as their sole carbon source could be isolated. Ultimately, this strain could be potentially be used in probiotics for livestock and pets for odor reduction.