From 2014hs.igem.org
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P l a n t i F r e e z e
Abstract:
Annually, about 5% to 15% of agricultural produce is lost due to frost. The formation of ice damages plants by rupturing cells and also through dehydration as water molecules are drawn out of tissue. Current solutions to this problem - such as using heat or covering crops with protective material - are cumbersome, costly, and not fully preventative. Synthetic antifreeze chemicals have not been proven to work. Even if they did, they would be need to be applied repeatedly, at great cost, and may also leave residues in the environment.
The CSW ProTeens aim to design a synthetic biology solution to this problem with a nonpathogenic strain of E. coli able to produce and secrete RiAFP (Rhagium inquisitor Antifreeze Protein) using a part that the Yale ‘11 iGEM team developed. RiAFP is an insect antifreeze protein from Rhagium inquisitor and the most efficient AFP known. RiAFP, unlike synthetic chemicals, should not be harmful if ingested. We are not sure yet whether this method is effective on an industrial scale and will need to test this. We wish to use a type 1 secretion system designed by the Utah State University ‘09 iGEM team to transport the protein directly to the extracellular space.
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