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Title: BacillaFilla: Filling Microcracks in Concrete

Abstract: BacillaFilla, an engineered Bacillus subtilis, aims to repair Microcracks in concrete, which can cause catastrophic structural failure. BacillaFilla would be applied to structures by spraying onto their surface. The Bacillus swims deep into the microcracks. Repair is effected by production of CaCO3, Filamentous Bacillus subtilis cells and Levansucrose . CaCO₃expands at the same rate as concrete, making it the ideal filler. A filamentous cell mesh provides reinforcement. Levansucrose glues CaCO3 and filamentous cells in place. B. subtilis 168 sporulates, making it ideal for storage and transportation. The cells are naturally tolerant to concrete's high pH. We repaired 168's defective swrA and sfp , regaining motility. At the end of the crack the quorum communication peptide subtilin triggers a co-ordinated population response from a subtilin-inducible promoter . Upregulating SR1 and rocF promotes arginine and urea production, increasing exogenous CaCO3 deposition. Over-producing yneA induces the filamentous cell phenotype, while SacB converts extracellular sucrose to levansucrose glue.

To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a kill switch.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 <div style="text-align:justify;padding:5px">
 ===Project Description===
-[[Team:Newcastle/problem|Microcracks in concrete]] undermine structural integrity and are inaccessible to conventional repair methods. Bacteria of the ''Bacillus'' genus, such as ''Bacillus subtilis'' 168, could be the ideal candidates for concrete repair since they are able to precipitate CaCO<sub>3</sub> (Tittelboom et al., 2009. <cite>Use of bacteria to repair cracks in concrete</cite>, Cement and Concrete Research).
-'''Our project''' aims to fill cracks in concrete with a mixture of:
+'''Title:'''
-*[[Team:Newcastle/Urease| CaCO<sub>3</sub>]], which has the same thermal expansion coefficient as concrete.
+BacillaFilla: Filling Microcracks in Concrete
-*[[Team:Newcastle/Filamentous_Cells| Filamentous ''Bacillus subtilis'' cells]], which will act like the fibres found in fibre-reinforced concrete.
-*[[Team:Newcastle/glue| Glue]], which is required to glue calcium carbonate and filamentous cells together and also help in filling up the crack.
-The introduction of [[Team:Newcastle/Swarming| swarming]] genes into ''Bacillus subtilis'' 168 to enable it to travel down the microcracks.
-Once the bacteria have reached a sufficient density inside a microcrack, a [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system| subtilin-based cell-signalling system]], building on the subtilin sensing system previously designed by [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system#2008Brick| Newcastle's iGEM 2008 team]] will initiate concrete repair by making some of the cells to produce calcium carbonate and some of the cells to go filamentous.
-To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a [[Team:Newcastle/Non-target-environment_kill_switch| kill switch]].</div>
+'''Abstract:'''
+BacillaFilla, an engineered Bacillus subtilis, aims to repair [[Team:Newcastle/problem|Microcracks in concrete]], which can cause catastrophic structural failure. BacillaFilla would be applied to structures by spraying onto their surface.
+The Bacillus swims deep into the microcracks. Repair is effected by production of CaCO3, [[Team:Newcastle/Filamentous_Cells| Filamentous ''Bacillus subtilis'' cells]]  and [[Team:Newcastle/glue|Levansucrose ]]. [[Team:Newcastle/Urease| CaCO<sub>3</sub>]]expands at the same rate as concrete, making it the ideal filler. A filamentous cell mesh provides reinforcement. Levansucrose glues CaCO3 and filamentous cells in place.
+B. subtilis 168 sporulates, making it ideal for storage and transportation. The cells are naturally tolerant to concrete's high pH. We repaired 168's defective [[Team:Newcastle/Swarming|swrA and sfp ]], regaining motility. At the end of the crack the [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system|quorum communication ]]peptide subtilin triggers a co-ordinated population response from a [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system#2008Brick|subtilin-inducible promoter ]] . Upregulating SR1 and rocF promotes arginine and urea production, increasing exogenous  CaCO3 deposition. Over-producing  yneA induces  the filamentous cell phenotype, while SacB converts extracellular sucrose to levansucrose glue.
-[[Team:Newcastle/Our Abstract|Our Abstract]]
+To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a [[Team:Newcastle/Non-target-environment_kill_switch| kill switch]].
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