Team:Acton-BoxboroughRHS/Research

From 2014hs.igem.org

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         <h style="font-size:50px;font-family:Arial">Research On Kopi Luwak</h>
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         <h style="font-size:50px;font-family:Arial">Research</h>
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            <h style="border:3px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:green"> Pre-Research</h>
             <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow"> E. Coli vs. Yeast</h>
             <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow"> E. Coli vs. Yeast</h>
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        <p style="font-family:Arial">This image shows the template for a typical plasmid requirement</p>
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        <img src="https://c9.io/ab_igem/igem2014/workspace/Plasmid.png">
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         <img src="https://c9.io/ab_igem/igem2014/workspace/Plasmid.png">
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        <h style="border:3px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:green">Parts</h>
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        <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow">The Promoter</h>
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        <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow">The Ribosome Binding Site</h>
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        <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow">The Open Reading Frames</h>
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        <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow">The Terminator</h>
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        <p>The Terminator is the 'last' region of the plasmid, where RNA polymerase stops transcription. There are two main types of terminators in prokaryotes, rho-dependent terminators, and rho-independent terminators. Rho-dependent termination bases its function on the Rho protein, which causes the RNA polymerase to fall disassociate form the plasmid. Rho-independent termination does not use Rho to disassociate the RNA polymerase, but instead stops by the DNA sequence, here's how it works. The DNA sequence contains a two regions that are rich in cytosine and guanine. When this is transcribed, those regions on the RNA form hydrogen bonds to itself: effectively forming a 'loop' which disassociates the DNA polymerase from the DNA.</p>
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        <h style="border:1px solid black;padding:5px;background-color:yellow">The Backbone</h>
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         <p>Site Under Construction</p>
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         <p>New Updates!</p>
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            function to_project(){
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                document.getElementById("content").innerHTML="Kopi Luwak coffee is the rarest \
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                and the most expensive type of coffee in the world. This beverage is made \
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                from the feces of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) or Luwak,\
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                a cat-like omnivore that fills the niche of a racoon in Asia. The Asian Palm Civet \
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                eats raw coffee berries. As the berries are digested, enzymes in the animal's\
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                digestive tract break down components of the coffee bean that are responsible for its\
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                bitter taste. However, the beans themselves are not digested. The civet only digests the\
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                fleshy outer layer, so when it defecates, it leaves clumps of coffee beans that have been\
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                processed by its enzymes. The beans are then cleaned, roasted, and brewed to make the Kopi\
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                Luwak coffee. Due to the complexity of this process, Kopi Luwak is a very expensive item\
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                at $600 per pound. The outrageous price has made Kopi Luwak a novelty for the rich. Its \
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                allegedly excellent flavor is sadly something that most people are unable to afford. Another\
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                drawback of Kopi Luwak is that demand has driven businesses to animal cruelty in order \
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                to keep up production. A small civet farming industry has tens of thousands of civets\
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                living in battery cages being force fed coffee berries. Civets, being omnivores, are no\
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                more capable of surviving on coffee than humans. As a result their population is diminishing.\
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                We propose to make this process more humane, efficient, and sanitary by using bacteria instead of\
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                civets to process coffee berries into Kopi Luwak beans. We will accomplish this by inserting genes\
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                that code for proteins found in the civet's digestive tract into a hardy bacteria that can withstand\
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                the pH levels required for the proteins to operate. We intend to add genes for salivary amylase, pepsin,\
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                pancreatic amylase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin, sequenced from palm civets or closely-related species.\
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                Once the bacteria have been transformed, we will attempt to simulate the digestive process of the civet\
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                on coffee berries and analyze our results. Although this project seems unconventional, putting animal\
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                enzymes in bacteria has been done before to great effect. Take rennet cheese for an example. In order\
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                to obtain the enzymes required to produce this cheese, a calf must be slaughtered; the material (rennet)\
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                is taken from the dead animal's digestive tract. Now, due to growing demand for this cheese, bacteria containing\
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                the rennet enzymes are used instead. Today, the sale of these cheeses is a popular and profitable industry.\
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                By putting animal enzymes in bacteria, we create a digestive platform that is capable of processing more than\
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                just coffee berries.";
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            }
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Revision as of 04:08, 21 May 2014

Welcome to the ABRHS iGEM team

ABRHS

For the active mock Wiki, go here.



Research

Pre-Research E. Coli vs. Yeast

E.coli has a higher pH range and may be easier to assemble, but may be less productive. Yeast will probably be more productive in the long run but is otherwise inferior

Genes

we need an open reading frame (orf) a ribosome binding site (rbs), promoter, and terminator at least 3-5 enzymes: pepsin, salivary amylase, trypsin, chymotripsin, pancreatic amylase





This image shows the template for a typical plasmid requirement





Parts

The Promoter



The Ribosome Binding Site



The Open Reading Frames



The Terminator

The Terminator is the 'last' region of the plasmid, where RNA polymerase stops transcription. There are two main types of terminators in prokaryotes, rho-dependent terminators, and rho-independent terminators. Rho-dependent termination bases its function on the Rho protein, which causes the RNA polymerase to fall disassociate form the plasmid. Rho-independent termination does not use Rho to disassociate the RNA polymerase, but instead stops by the DNA sequence, here's how it works. The DNA sequence contains a two regions that are rich in cytosine and guanine. When this is transcribed, those regions on the RNA form hydrogen bonds to itself: effectively forming a 'loop' which disassociates the DNA polymerase from the DNA.



The Backbone



New Updates!