Team:OLS Canmore/Description

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DESCRIPTION

This is the second year our team is tackling the global issue of keratin waste build-up.

Our inspiration to tackle the issue of hair and feather buildup came from a cartoon that was published in our local paper entitled “The Epic Poo Race”. From this we became aware of the large amounts of hair being flushed into wastewater treatment systems thus, getting tangled and trapped, restricting the flow of sewage. This cartoon was published as a funny way to educate the public about the issue that is affecting our town.
From visiting our local wastewater treatment plant we learnt that the buildup of hair can be extremely damaging to their pumps, leading to a backup of waste, and the breaking of equipment costing millions in repairs. Perhaps the worst thing about this issue is the current procedure for removing the hair from pipes. These clogs, not matter their size, must be removed manually by the unlucky worker given the task. Our team knew that there must be a better solution, so we tasked ourselves with using synthetic biology to answer to this problem.

On a global scale, keratin waste buildup is a result of many industries including but not limited to, wastewater processing, poultry, and leather industries neglecting to dispose of excess material properly. Our team has decided to focus on the wastewater and poultry industries, specifically looking at hair and feathers. Each year 8.5 billion tonnes of feather waste is produced (1) in addition to material waste in water systems.
Hair and feathers are made up of a very strong protein making it difficult to break down. Keratin is found in very high concentration in both hair and feathers, taking years to naturally degrade (2).
The disulphide bonds, hydrogen bonds, and tightly wrapped helixes or parallel polypeptide chains with amino acids make keratin one of the strongest natural proteins (2).

In order to solve the problem, our team has planned to construct a bubble column bioreactor that expresses Keratinase in order to speed up the degradation of hair and feathers in industrial waste systems.
Keratinase is a proteolytic enzyme that is capable of breaking the strong bonds that hold keratin together. In nature, Keratinases are expressed in a variety of organisms, including bacteria and fungi, which exist in many different habitats. These habitats include Antarctic soils, soybean waste, Mediterranean Sea, solfataric muds, polluted rivers, and hot springs (3). The current understanding of Keratinase shows the Bacillus genera to be the most prominent natural Keratinase producers (3).
In addition to providing a quick and effective method for the disposal of keratin waste, the enzymatic degradation provides the opportunity to manufacture useful products. The “sludge” resulting from the process can be dried and lightly ground to produce high-quality animal feed and fertilizer.

Designing a biological system that can produce functional keratinase at a low cost and with high efficiency provides an opportunity for real improvement in the current reality of keratin waste management. Aside from the industrial applications already discussed, keratinases can have expanded application within the cosmetic industry, as a natural alternative to caustic drain cleaner products, in the leather production industry, to assist in dehairing hides, and as an animal feed supplement for livestock are able to absorb more nutrients from their food (3).

Citations:

1. New Solution Found to Disposal of Feathers [Internet]. The Poultry Site; 2009 July 30 [cited 2016 May 18]. Available from: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/18275/new-solution-found-to-disposal-of-feather-waste/
2. Gupta R, Tiwary E, Sharma R, Rajput R, Nair N. Microbial Keratinases: Diversity and Applications. Thermophilic Microbes in Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology [Internet]. New York; Springer; n.d. [cited 2016 May 18]. 951p. Available from: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9789400758988
3. Tulasi Satyanarayana, Jennifer Littlechild, Yutaka Kawarabayasi, Thermophilic Microbes in Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology, 2013, Springer.

Contact us at:
https://www.facebook.com/OLeSsence/
@igem_canmore
larvisais@redeemer.ab.ca