$("#TB2P").html("For the biological aspect of our water safety focus, we looked at the growing problem of high oestrogen levels in British waterways negatively impacting fish populations, and attempted to provide a solution using synthetic biology.<br>The synthetic oestrogen, 17β-estradiol (EE2), is the form that has the largest effect on fish populations, and levels in British rivers range from around 0.05 to 2.80 ng L -1  (Jobling et al, 2009). This is the form of oestrogen we decided to target with our project. This may seem like a very small amount, however studies have shown that even extremely low concentrations such as these can have profound effects on freshwater fish.");

                         $("#TB2P").html("Drawing on research from Taiwan, we discovered a gene from Sphingomonas bacteria called OecA that encodes the enzyme 17,ꞵ-estradiol dehydrogenase, which converts E2 into estrone, resulting in a fifty fold decrease in oestrogenic activity (Chen et al, 2017). The aim of our project was to insert this gene into E.coli with a secretion signal attached, to create a bacteria that produces and secretes the OecA enzyme, with the intent of it being able to efficiently convert E2 into estrone, thus reducing the oestrogenic activity of sewage effluent.");

                         $("#TB3P").html("The third class of pollutants we looked into was inorganic, specifically, lead poisoning and heavy metal detoxification. Lead has been identified by the WHO as one of ten chemicals posing a major global health concern1; the neurological and behavioural effects of lead are widely believed to be irreversible2. It’s health effects are particularly adverse in young children ands been linked to reduced IQ, mental disability and higher rates of violent crime3 and antisocial behaviour in societies with high lead exposure4.  

To combat this global problem, we’ve been working on a solution to isolate and remove lead from water systems. And the solution we’ve come up with is inducing gas vesicles in bacteria.

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                         $("#TB3P").html("Gas vesicles are found, naturally occuring, in five phyla of bacteria and two species of archaea5. They provide aquatic microorganisms with a way of moving vertically, enabling suspension at ideal depth. Across different organisms, eight to fourteen genes have been identified that are involved in the production of gas vesicles, however, only two of these genes have been directly found in the gas vesicle structure6. These genes combine to form a hollow, proteinous structure.<img style='width: 60%' src='https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/7/7d/T--Warwick--leaddesc1.png'>Forming like an organelle, the gas vesicle increases cell buoyancy by decreasing density and thus allowing the cell to float.");       

                         $("#TB3P").html("The goal of our project is unlike anything that's been done before as we aim to induce gas vesicles in Bacillus subtilis in order to allow for the bioremediation of toxic metals, such as lead. Bacillus subtilis has been shown to naturally absorb such metals9 in its outer membrane to aid in its biofilm forming10 properties. Thus, in making bacillus float, we hoped to allow for easier removal of such metals. Using bacillus in bioremediation is not a novel approach for removal of metals. Bacillus megaterium has been used in soils in order to remove several heavy metals such as iron, copper and magnesium11.");

                         $("#TB3P").html("Attempting to make bacillus float, to say the least, an ambitious idea. However, we were intrigued by its novelty, and how hopefully simple it would be to incorporate. We also noted the massive potential our research may have: we looked at this summer as an iGEM team as a starting point. Eventually, some of the ideas that could make our project more realistic would include attaching, or SpyTagging, a magnetic protein to the surface of the gas vesicle in order to allow for the collection of the particles inside it after lysing the cells. ");

For the biological aspect of our water safety focus, we looked at the growing problem of high oestrogen levels in British waterways negatively impacting fish populations, and attempted to provide a solution using synthetic biology.

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