October 21, 2023
HongKong-CUHK # Ecoture: A multi-enzymatic approach for PE-PFA mixed plastic waste biodegradation # Fungi have been identified to possess plastic degradation capabilities via enzymes.They are sustainable and cost-effective alternative. Given that Hong Kong’s second largest municipal waste is plastics, our team aims to alleviate the burden of limited landfill space by developing a more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective method using laccase, lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP).
菌類は、酵素を介したプラスチックの分解能力を持つことが確認されています。これは持続可能で費用対効果が高い代替手段です。香港の二番目に大きい市民廃棄物がプラスチックであることを考えると、我々のチームは、ラッカーゼ、リグニンペルオキシダーゼ（LiP）、マンガンペルオキシダーゼ（MnP）を使用した、より持続可能で効率的で費用対効果の高い方法を開発することで、限られた埋立地スペースの負担を軽減することを目指しています。
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October 21, 2023
IFB-Gdansk # EDC-Seas: development of an enzymatic degradation system of dibutyl phthalate involving cellulosome-based immobilization. # Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) present in water have recently raised concerns about their negative impact on human and animal health. Phthalates, which belong to the EDCs, are widely used in industry as plasticizers, improving the mechanical properties of plastic materials. However, they can be released from materials to the environment and reach drinking water, where their concentrations often exceed the limits set by the WHO as safe.
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October 21, 2023
IIT-Delhi # Bioremediation of River Yamuna: Removal of organometallic compounds using biosurfactant # The Yamuna River, a crucial water source in India, faces alarming pollution levels, with a shocking 75% of contamination stemming from a 22 km stretch in Delhi. The main culprits behind this pollution are textile industries and car workshops, discharging hazardous organometallic compounds.
インドにおいて重要な水源であるヤムナ川は、驚くべき汚染レベルに直面しており、汚染の75％がデリーの22キロの区間から発生しています。この汚染の主な原因は、有害な有機金属化合物を排出するテキスタイル産業と自動車工房です。
reference:
iGEM IIT-Delhi Team Information iGEM IIT-Delhi Wiki
October 21, 2023
iZJU-China # Eco-Art: A solution for pungent odors degradation in oil painting based on engineering bacteria. # Turpentine is a commonly used thinner in oil painting, which can modify the viscosity of oil painting pigments. However, its pungent odors, mainly caused by alpha-pinene, poses a threat to the health of oil painting practitioners. Our project hopes to construct engineering bacteria to degrade alpha-pinene, the main component of turpentine. The degradation process includes two parts: an improved alpha-pinene oxidation system and an alpha-pinene oxide lyses system.
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October 21, 2023
Lund # Reducing pharmaceutical pollution through microbial degradation # The detoxifying ecosystems project (DECO) aims to explore a possible cure for the pollution of ecosystems with diclofenac (DF), a common painkiller usually administered in gel form. This drug is present at toxic levels within many of the world’s wastewater treatment facilities. The DECO-project is focused on the degradation of DF using E.coli and B.subtilis equipped with different laccase enzymes capable of chemically modifying the drug.
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October 21, 2023
MIT-MAHE # CarbanEl # MIT-MAHE is focusing on biodegrading triclocarban (TCC), an antimicrobial compound in pharmaceutical and personal care products. Due to its hydrophobicity and chemical stability, it is ineffectively degraded in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), resulting in accumulation in the effluent and sludge. Owing to its carcinogenic and hormone disrupting properties, TCC when exposed to the environment as sludge inhibits plant metabolism and harms endocrine functioning in aquatic life.
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October 21, 2023
NJTech-China-A # Improved PETase for filter cloth recovery through protein engineering # The pollution caused by filter cloth made primarily of plastic has become increasingly severe in recent years. Exploring green and environmentally friendly plastic recycling methods is a pressing social need. We have conducted a project focusing on two core scientific issues: the soluble expression of PETase and the enhancement of IsPETase’s degradation activity. This project combines techniques such as protein engineering, molecular docking, and molecular simulation.
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October 21, 2023
NNU-CHINA # Machine learning-aided engineering of two-enzyme system for PET depolymerization # One of the grand challenges of the 21st century is to solve the environmental problem caused by plastic waste. In 2016, researchers identified PETase that can depolymerize PET into monomers. However, PETase was limited by temperature ranges. To overcome this challenge, we reconstructed ancestral sequences of PETase by employing the profile-HMM algorithm. To further enhance the thermostability and catalytic efficiency of ASR-PETase, we used machine learning algorithms to identify stabilizing variants.
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October 21, 2023
OUC-Haide # NCDriven-deHCHO: Remove formaldehyde from indoor environment # In recent years, indoor formaldehyde pollution, a known human carcinogen, has increased in newly renovated homes, with existing removal methods facing issues like secondary pollution and inconsistent effectiveness. To address the pressing issue of formaldehyde pollution, our team has developed an innovative biological device. We’ve integrated genetically modified bacteria into this device to remove formaldehyde from the environment oxidatively. These bacteria express non-natural cofactor (NCD)-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase.
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October 21, 2023
Queens-Canada # Recircuit # Through Recircuit, we will bridge the gap caused by plastic’s resilience to degradation and cost to recycle by engineering a bacterium that uses PET plastic, found in clear water bottles, as a feedstock for PHB synthesis, a type of bioplastic. Recycling with a biological system not only could be cheaper than chemical methods, but such a system can repurpose PET, which takes hundreds of years to degrade, into a more environmentally friendly alternative that takes just a few weeks.
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