Results
Theoretically we have suggested a possibility of giving mealworms the ability to degrade PET. There were originally two parts to the plan. First was to chemically engineer e-coli so that it contains the genes to formulate PETase. Second was to feed to e-coli to the mealworm and to see if it could digest PET. The former plan is complete. The latter one is still under process.
◇ Future plans for the project:
Add MHET to the list of plastic the mealworm could digest
◇ Considerations for replicating the experiments:
We are considering replicating the experiments to better our results.
◇ Achievements:
Our project suggested a plausible solution to the problem of excess plastic waste that harm the eco-system.
Success:We cloned the e-coli and using the LIC method and successfully added PETase to the e-coli DNA.
Failure: Accidently, the experimenter put her hand over the plate on which she was working, and since the foreign particles falling from her hand they mixed with the DNA she was inserting, result showed multiplicity of blotches instead of a single strain.
