Project information
Construction of Bacterial Strain Degrading Anthropogenic Compound using Techniques of Enzyme Engineering and Synthetic Biology (SYNTBIO)

Anthropogenically generated substrates introduced into the biosphere by humans since the Industrial Revolution are often recalcitrant and persist in the environment because microorganisms have not had sufficient time to evolve enzymes capable of catalyzing their conversion. 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) is an anthropogenic compound, which can cause a serious health threat. The TCP is very stable and recalcitrant chemical retaining over decades in ground water. To address this problem, enzymatic treatment is possible by developing or improving natural enzymes capable of its degradation. We will engineer haloalkane dehalogenase and other associated enzymes for efficient degradation of this chemical. The engineered enzymes will be incorporated in a native and an engineered bacterial host so as to ease their direct application for treatment of ground water.