Difference between revisions of "Team:OLS Canmore/Description"

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”. Hair is being flushed into wastewater treatment systems and is getting tangled and trapped, thus restricting the flow of sewage. This cartoon was published as a funny way to educate the public about this issue that is affecting our town.
From visiting our local wastewater treatment plant we learnt that these build-ups of hair can be so damaging that they can stop pumps from working leading to a backup of waste, blockages, and the breaking of equipment costing millions in repairs. Perhaps the worst thing about this issue is how the hair is currently removed from the waste treatment facilities. 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. We thought that synthetic biology could be the 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. Our team has decided to focus on the wastewater and poultry industries, specifically looking at hair and feathers. Each year 8 billion tonnes of feather waste is produced (1) in addition to The reason for which hair and feathers pose waste-management problems is that keratin is a very strong protein. Keratin is found in very high concentration in both hair and feathers, and takes many 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 (3).

In order to solve the problem, our team has decided to construct a bacterial system 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 (citation check). 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 (4). The current understanding of Keratinase shows the Bacillus genera to be the most prominent natural Keratinase producers (4).
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 (citation).

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 value in 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 as it allows livestock to receive more nutrients from their food (4).

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