Team:UrbanTundra Edmonton/Experiments
Experimental Overview
Ideonella dechloratans Perchlorate Pathway - The anaerobic bacterium, Ideonella dechloratans, is the microorganism that our project is based upon. This perchlorate respiring species has the ability to use perchlorate ions as the terminal electron acceptor of their metabolic pathway. The pathway utilizes two enzymes, Perchlorate Reductase and Chlorite Dismutase, which take perchlorate ions and reduces them to chloride ions and oxygen gas. (http://aem.asm.org/content/78/12/4380.full). In this pathway, Perchlorate Reductase converts perchlorate ions into chlorate ions. The intermediate reaction involves the conversion of chlorate ions into ???. Finally, Chlorate Dismutase reduces the chlorite ions into chloride ions and oxygen gas. Our goal is to take this perchlorate reducing pathway and to transform it into E. coli in order to effectively use it to remediate Martian regolith for use in a Martian colony.
