Collaborative Research: Characterization of Lipo-peptides for use as Bio-dispersants to Clean-up Oil Spills

英国石油公司漏油事件始于2010年4月20日，以每天3. 5万至6万桶的速度向墨西哥湾泄漏石油，为期约3个月。 已经部署了各种技术，试图收集或分散石油，并尽量减少对野生动物和财产的损害。 这包括使用大约100万磅的化学分散剂来分散石油。 大规模引入分散剂到环境中导致了对这些化学品的安全性和环境影响的强烈关注。 该项目的目标是开发“生物分散剂”，这种分散剂对墨西哥湾的主要原生生物既有效又毒性最小。 生物分散剂将通过自然发酵过程产生。 具体而言，微生物将用于将未充分利用的农业残留物（例如大豆壳）转化为生物分散剂。 基因工程方法将在实验室中使用，以产生许多不同的微生物纯培养物，每一种都产生不同的生物分散剂。 将对每种生物分散剂进行纯化，并测量每种生物分散剂分散油的能力。 将对有效的生物分散剂进行测试，以确定它们是否对作为海湾食物链和生态系统重要成员的关键生物、底栖动物有毒。 这项研究的目的是使用设计，生产和测试的迭代回合来发现安全有效的生物分散剂。 这项工作的所有重大发现都将及时公布。 作为这项研究的一部分，收集的所有结果和数据将提供给其他研究人员。 计算机设计工具与机器人操作的集成使得能够使用细胞和分子生物学来生产新的化学品和材料。由计算机科学、机器人技术和生物学的融合所创造的领域被称为“合成生物学”。 1930年至1960年间发生了一场化学革命，通常被称为“合成化学”革命。正是在这一时期，科学家和工程师学会了使用石化原料来生产我们今天可以使用的大量有机化学品，聚合物和塑料。我们正处于一场新的化学革命的早期阶段。特别是，“合成生物学”使工程师能够从可再生原材料中生产我们社会所需的化学品和材料，类似于“合成化学”使石油生产有机化学品的方式。 合成生物学正在促成一场“可持续化学”革命，这对美国来说是一个重大机遇，因为它依赖于结合美国的三个优势和卓越领域：农业、生物技术和化学制造。 据BIO组织称，可持续化学可以从化学品销售中产生1900亿美元的国内收入，并创造或保留237，000个美国工作岗位。 该研究项目代表了这一重要领域的领先公司Modular Genetics，Inc.以及三所大学的科学家：哥伦比亚大学、爱荷华州州立大学和路易斯安那州立大学。 该项目应同时导致推出新的商业产品，并培训科学家和工程师准备推动这个行业向前发展。

The BP oil spill began on April 20th, 2010 and leaked oil into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day for a period of about three months. Various technologies have been deployed to attempt to collect or disperse the oil and to minimize damage to wildlife and property. This includes the use of about 1 million pounds of chemical dispersants to disperse the oil. The large-scale introduction of dispersants into the environment has led to an intense focus on the safety and environmental impact of these chemicals. The objective of this project is to develop "bio-dispersants" that are effective and minimally toxic to key organisms native to the Gulf of Mexico. The bio-dispersants will be produced by the natural process of fermentation. Specifically, microorganisms will be used to convert underutilized agricultural residue (for example, soybean hulls) into bio-dispersants. Gene engineering methods will be used in the laboratory to generate many different pure cultures of the microorganisms, each of which produces a different bio-dispersant. Each bio-dispersant will be purified, and the ability of each bio-dispersant to disperse oil will be measured. Bio-dispersants that are effective will be tested to determine whether they are toxic to key organisms, the benthic infauna, which are important members of the Gulf food chain and ecosystem. The objective of this research is to use iterative rounds of design, production and testing to discover bio-dispersants that are safe and effective. All significant findings from this work will be published promptly. All results and data collected as part of this research will be made available to other researchers.Broader Impacts. The integration of computer design tools with robotic manipulation enables the use of cellular and molecular biology to produce new chemicals and materials. The field created by the convergence of computer science, robotics and biology is called "synthetic biology". There was a revolution in chemistry that occurred between 1930 and 1960, typically referred to as the "synthetic chemistry" revolution. It was during that period that scientists and engineers learned to use petrochemical feedstocks to produce the vast array of organic chemicals, polymers and plastics available to us today. We are in the early phase of a new revolution in chemistry. In particular, "synthetic biology" is enabling engineers to generate the chemicals and materials needed by our society from renewable raw materials, similar to the way "synthetic chemistry" enabled the production of organic chemicals from petroleum. Synthetic biology is enabling a "sustainable chemistry" revolution, which represents a significant opportunity for America because it depends on combining three areas of U.S. strength and excellence: agriculture, biotechnology and chemical manufacturing. According to the BIO Organization, sustainable chemistry could lead to the generation of $190 billion in domestic revenue from chemical sales, and to the creation or retention of 237,000 U.S. jobs. This research project represents a collaboration between a leading company in this important field, Modular Genetics, Inc. and scientists at three universities: Columbia University, Iowa State University and Louisiana State University. This project should simultaneously lead to the launch of new commercial products, and to the training of scientists and engineers prepared drive this industry forward.