Bielefeld University students participating in iGEM
competition
A biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and
drinking water. The 15 Bielefeld students submitting this project to
the ‘international Genetically Engineered Machine competition’
(iGEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston,
USA are setting their sights high. They are persuading
internationally active companies and associations in the
biotechnology and chemistry sector to contribute several ten
thousands of Euros to cover the costs of entering this rapidly
expanding global competition in synthetic biology. Since May, they
have been spending their free time in the laboratory making new DNA
building blocks, reproducing them, and producing enzymes. First
results give reason for optimism.
The birth control pill is a widespread contraception method.
However, large amounts of these modified estrogens leave the body
again in urine. The conventional methods in sewage treatment plants
are unable to treat this waste water sufficiently because the most
frequently used estrogen ethinylestradiol is very difficult to break
down. As a result, the hormone finds its way into rivers and lakes
and also accumulates in drinking water with serious consequences for
fish and other aquatic life. These range from reproductive and
severe developmental disorders to the formation of female sexual
characteristics in males. The long-term consequences of increasing
estrogen pollution for human beings are still largely unknown.
Nonetheless, declining sperm counts and thereby increasing
infertility in men living in industrial nations may well relate to
this hormonal pollution. In addition, testicular and prostate
cancers as well as osteoporosis (a reduction in bone density) could
be a consequence of overly high concentrations of estrogen in the
human body.
Bio filters from tree fungi
The goal
of the Bielefeld iGEM team is to develop a biological filter in
which certain enzymes (so-called laccases) break down the estrogen.
Laccases are to be found in many organisms, and one of their
properties is an ability to break down aromatic compounds – to which
the estrogens belong. One source of particularly efficient laccases
for this process is the turkey tail, a type of fungus that likes to
grow on trees. The Bielefeld students are aiming to manufacture this
enzyme economically and safely with the help of methods from
synthetic biology. It should also be possible to extend the concept
to other, in part poisonous and carcinogenic pollutants in drinking
and waste water. The students already have one first success to
announce: they have managed to isolate the genes of several laccases
from various bacteria and have placed them in a standard, allowing
further development. By the time of the European Jamboree in
October, they want to have confirmed how the enzymes break down
various substrates such as estrogens, pesticides, and
pharmaceuticals and to be starting to immobilize them to filter
materials.
Doing research in their own time
The
Bielefeld team is composed of 15 students in the Genome-Based
Systems Biology, Molecular Cell Biology, and Molecular Biotechnology
degree programmes. Participating in the international competition
means sacrificing many hours of their own free time, because the
Bielefeld students have to carry out the research on top of their
regular studies. Moritz Müller, a Master student of Molecular
Biotechnology, explains why participating is nonetheless attractive:
‘Taking part in the competition gives you a chance to build up your
own laboratory work while you are still studying, to pursue your own
ideas, and even carry out your own project. These are the sort of
challenges you will be facing in your professional career’. The
students are being supported by Professor Dr. Alfred Pühler,
Professor Dr. Erwin Flaschel, Dr. Jörn Kalinowski, and Dr. Christian
Rückert from Bielefeld University’s CeBiTec (Center for
Biotechnology).
International competition
The iGEM competition has been held every year since 2003 by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. Starting as
an MIT study course, the number of competitors has grown rapidly
from five teams in 2004 to more than 190 in the present year. All
teams face the same task: taking their project from the idea across
the laboratory work to gaining funding and communicating the
findings. As Dr. Jörn Kalinowski stresses, ‘on the student level,
the iGEM competition is the world championship in synthetic biology
– and it shows what potential this still young field of research has
in the near future. Over 2,000 brilliant young minds from the best
universities throughout the world are competing with each other. As
in the current Bielefeld project, they set themselves ecological and
social challenges and often find unconventional solutions. At the
same time, the iGEM competition draws the attention of international
companies and associations to the students and their promising
ideas. The competition has a worldwide impact‘. Because of the large
numbers of competitors, continental preliminaries called jamborees
have been organized since 2011. The European Jamboree will be held
from 5–7 October in Amsterdam, Holland. It will decide which
European teams get to travel to Boston, USA for the finals in
November. Bielefeld University is competing for the third year in a
row, and already succeeded in qualifying for Boston in 2010 and
2011.
For more information, visit www.igem-bielefeld.de
SOURCE: Bielefeld University