iGEM 2020 — Team HK_CPU-WFN-WYY

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# Team:HK CPU-WFN-WYY/Notebook

HK\_CPU-WFN-WYY:logbook

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[Team](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Team)
 [Attributions](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Attributions)
 [Collaborations](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Collaborations)
 [Inclusion](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Inclusion)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/f/f1/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_project.png) Project

[Contribution](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Contribution)
 [Description](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Description)
 [Design](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Design)
 [Engineering](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Engineering)
 [Modeling](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Model)
 [Notebook](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Notebook)
 [Partnership](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Partnership)
 [Proposed Implementation](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Implementation)
 [Results](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Results)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/4/42/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_parts.png) Parts

[Parts Collection](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Part_Collection)
 [Parts](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Parts)

[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/3/32/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_safety.png) Safety](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Safety)
[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/e/ed/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_human_practice.png) Human Practices](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Human_Practices)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/9/9c/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_awards.png) Awards

[Software](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Software)

 [Free Artwork & Subtitles Generator](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Excellence)

# Logbook

[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/8/8b/HQ_page_logo.jpg)](https://2020.igem.org)

# Team:HK CPU-WFN-WYY/Engineering

Engineering

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[Team](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Team)
 [Attributions](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Attributions)
 [Collaborations](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Collaborations)
 [Inclusion](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Inclusion)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/f/f1/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_project.png) Project

[Contribution](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Contribution)
 [Description](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Description)
 [Design](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Design)
 [Engineering](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Engineering)
 [Modeling](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Model)
 [Notebook](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Notebook)
 [Partnership](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Partnership)
 [Proposed Implementation](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Implementation)
 [Results](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Results)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/4/42/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_parts.png) Parts

[Parts Collection](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Part_Collection)
 [Parts](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Parts)

[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/3/32/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_safety.png) Safety](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Safety)
[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/e/ed/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_human_practice.png) Human Practices](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Human_Practices)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/9/9c/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_awards.png) Awards

[Software](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Software)

 [Free Artwork & Subtitles Generator](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Excellence)

# Engineering

As we know, the plastic pollution in the ocean is severe and it is threatening the marine animals’ lives, we tried
to seek out ways to deal with the problems. We find out PET waste can be broken down more effectively using
cutinases. Therefore, we have done research on different cutinases like Tfcut2, HIC and LCC and studied some
physical properties of them. We imagine incorporating cutinase gene into symbiotic GM bacteria and introducing them
into their bivalve symbionts. The cutinase expressed can then help the breakdown of microplastic, this can help to
reduce microplastic in aquatic ecosystems.

In our project, we designed experiments in two phases. In phase 1, we would introduce plasmid carrying each of our
target cutinase gene into E.coli and test for the efficiency of different cutinases expressed. In Phase 2, we will
select symbiotic bacteria from local bivalves and introduce the Phase 1 GM bacteria that carry the most efficient
cutinase gene into the bivalves, and assess their microplastic degradation abilities.

Our Human Practice team members built a survey to study people’s understanding of plastic pollution, their plastic
use habits and their opinion on our project. Over 120 participants sent back replies and the survey results provided
valuable support to our members and inspired us to come up with some new ideas.

We have also conducted an interview with Professor King L. Chow of Life Science at HKUST on the Zoom platform. He
evaluated our design and project and expressed his reservation on the idea of incorporating a symbiotic GM bacteria
into bivalves to put our cutinase work in nature. Instead, Professor Chow suggested incorporating the enzymes into a
vessel packed with the GM E.coli or simply the cutinases, to serve as a biofilter. He also pointed out some
shortcomings of our project and suggested some directions to do continuous research. We learnt a lot from the
interview and realized there are still many problems and practical concerns we need to tackle, especially on the
biosafety and biosecurity aspects. All of the experience help us to clear our path and give us valuable insights to
plan for future studies.

After the interview, we started to improve our project by doing more research on papers related to cutinases like
TfH. We have also designed a solar device which put our Phase 1 enzyme products in work to breakdown microplastics.
We would modify and design more prototypes and figure out which one is the most effective and can be easily built
with reasonable price.

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# Team:HK CPU-WFN-WYY/Experiments

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# Team:HK CPU-WFN-WYY/Results

Results

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[Team](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Team)
 [Attributions](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Attributions)
 [Collaborations](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Collaborations)
 [Inclusion](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Inclusion)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/f/f1/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_project.png) Project

[Contribution](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Contribution)
 [Description](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Description)
 [Design](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Design)
 [Engineering](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Engineering)
 [Modeling](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Model)
 [Notebook](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Notebook)
 [Partnership](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Partnership)
 [Proposed Implementation](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Implementation)
 [Results](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Results)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/4/42/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_parts.png) Parts

[Parts Collection](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Part_Collection)
 [Parts](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Parts)

[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/3/32/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_safety.png) Safety](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Safety)
[![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/e/ed/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_human_practice.png) Human Practices](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Human_Practices)

![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/9/9c/T--HK_CPU-WFN-WYY--Menu_bar_awards.png) Awards

[Software](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Software)

 [Free Artwork & Subtitles Generator](https://2020.igem.org/Team%3AHK_CPU-WFN-WYY/Excellence)

# Results

On 30 September 2020, Professor King L. Chow of Life Science Department of Chemical and Biological engineering at HKUST gave us lots of invaluable advice about our project through a team interview on the ZOOM platform. Based on his suggestions and knowledge about the feasibility of our project, we did more research on the toxicity of EG and TPA, plasmid copy number, and optimal range of temperature of different cutinases. We then collected information on the degradation efficiency, optimum temperature & pH range, mediators and inhibitors of many other cutinases. By comparing these information, a total of 11 cutinases is short listed and would be investigated in our project. We would also take the advice concerning biosafety and biosecurity at every single step and stage of our laboratory work and designs seriously.