Team:Utah State/Project

Project

Cellulase:

Cellulose is a polymer of beta-linked glucose produced by plants, and can be broken down into its subunits by cellulase. Cellulose is not usable by most organisms because of the beta-linked glucose of which it is made up. Mammals use alpha-linked glucose to store their energy as glycogen while plants create starch the same way; cellulose is produced only for structural support. However, some organisms can enzymatically change beta links to alpha links, after breaking down a chain of cellulose. Our produced enzyme is only the enzyme that helps breakdown cellulose chains into smaller units called cellobiose, two glucose molecules linked by a beta 1 4 bond (Part:BBa_K118023). These smaller units of the large cellulose chain are more soluble in water, helping to remove the components of a plant stain on clothing.

Amylase:

Starch is a polymer of alpha linked glucose, and is the primary energy storage in plants. This polymer can be broken down by amylase, an enzyme produced in our mouths to help break down food as soon as it enters our body. These long chains of glucose are broken down into single glucose molecules. Any organism that consumes starch produces amylase, including E.coli. The gene we used to produce our amylase is native to E.coli (Part:BBa_K523001). The breakdown of starch helps remove common food stains.