Title: Biocontained degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil using Mycobacterium smegmatis
Department: Neuroscience
Description: This project will utilize Mycobacterium smegmatis, a common soil bacterium, to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil samples in the laboratory. PAHs are a class of over 100 chemicals derived from burning of organic material such as coal and gas. They are also persistent soil pollutants, where they affect properties such as water retention and granule size, leading to poor soil health, with several downstream effects on other organisms. While synthetic biology is poised to address this, the introduction of any genetically modified organism into the environment raises immediate safety concerns. This project tackles this issue by combining two bioengineering safety designs that tie the bacterial host's survival to the presence of PAHs. That way, after M. smegmatis has fully degraded the pollutants, the safety mechanism will trigger cell death, preventing unwanted spread of bacteria in the soil. This project will demonstrate controlled PAH degradation in M. smegmatis, and advance M. smegmatis as a potential microorganism for synthetic biology applications.
Hometown: Great Falls, Virginia
Advisor: Margaret Saha
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