Team:Newcastle

__NOTOC__{{Team:Newcastle/mainbanner}}
=BacillaFilla: Fixing cracks in Concrete=

[[Image:Newcastle_iGEM_Teampic.jpeg|centre|468px]]



<div style="text-align:justify;padding:5px">
===Project Description===
BacillaFilla, an engineered ''Bacillus subtilis'', aims to repair [[Team:Newcastle/problem|cracks in concrete]], which can cause catastrophic structural failure. BacillaFilla would be applied to structures by spraying onto their surface.

BacillaFilla swims deep into the cracks. Repair is effected by production of [[Team:Newcastle/Urease|CaCO<sub>3</sub>]], [[Team:Newcastle/Filamentous_Cells|filamentous ''Bacillus subtilis'' cells]] and [[Team:Newcastle/glue|levan]]. CaCO<sub>3</sub> expands at the same rate as concrete, making it the ideal filler. Filamentous ''Bacillus subtilis'' cells have similar tensile strength to the synthetic fibres used in fibre-reinforced concrete, and provide reinforcement. Levan glues CaCO<sub>3</sub> 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 designed a [[Team:Newcastle/Swarming|swarming]] BioBrick part for repairing ''B. subtilis'' 168's defective ''swrA'' and ''sfp'' genes and regaining motility. At the end of the crack the quorum sensing peptide [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system|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  CaCO<sub>3</sub> deposition. Over-producing  YneA induces the filamentous cell phenotype, while SacB converts extracellular sucrose to levan glue.

To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a [[Team:Newcastle/Non-target-environment_kill_switch| kill switch]].


{|style cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0"
! colspan="2" |<font size=4> <center>'''Summary of achievements:'''</center></font>
|-
|<span style="color:Sienna">'''Bronze:'''</span>
|<span style="color:SaddleBrown">From the beginning of the project, we have successfully registered the team of two instructors, six advisors and eight members. We have completed and submitted a Project Summary form, came up with ideas and shared them on our iGEM wikipedia page. We also entered information on one new BioBrick part, the ''yneA'' BioBrick into the Registry of Parts. The BioBrick for the IPTG-induced filamentous cell formation has been submitted to the iGEM Registry.</span>
|-
|<span style="color:Silver">'''Silver:'''</span>
|<span style="color:DimGray">The characterisation of our BioBrick, the IPTG-inducible filamentous cell formation part was successful. Details of it can be found [[Team:Newcastle/Filamentous_Cells#Characterisation|here]]</span>
|-
|<span style="color:Goldenrod">'''Gold:'''</span>
|...
|-
|}



<!---[http://twitter.com/newcastle_igem Follow us on Twitter] or join our [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newcastle-iGEM-2010/140948965930577| Facebook Fan page!] --->
<!-- 
{| style="color:#1b2c8a;background-color:#0c6;" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" border="1" bordercolor="#fff" width="62%" align="center"
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle|Home]]
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle/Team|Team]]
!align="center"|[https://igem.org/Team.cgi?year=2010&team_name=Newcastle Official Team Profile]
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle/Project|Project]]
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle/Parts|Parts Submitted to the Registry]]
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle/Modelling|Modelling]]
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle/Notebook|Notebook]]
!align="center"|[[Team:Newcastle/Safety|Safety]]


|}-->{{Team:Newcastle/footer}}