Decreases in crop yield have the potential to lead to <spanid="highlight">increased food prices</span> which would <spanid="highlight">exacerbate pre-existing food insecurities</span>.
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<h1class="title"><b>The Problem</b></h1>
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<p>Food security is a key determinant of people’s health.</p>
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<p>Our project aims to increase wheat plants’ tolerance to heat stress by introducing three enzymes to wheat plants that will:</p>
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<li><spanid="highlight">Increase the rate of photosynthesis</span> in plants, producing more carbohydrates (<spanid="highlight">SBPase</span>),</li>
<li><spanid="highlight">Decrease the plant stress hormone ethylene</span> that reduces plant growth at increased temperatures (<spanid="highlight">ACC deaminase</span>), and </li>
<li><spanid="highlight">Maintain high ionic strength</span> and <spanid="highlight">maintain protein folding</span> at increased temperatures (<spanid="highlight">choline monooxygenase</span>).</li>
<li>All three enzymes are activated by a heat-inducible promoter and will <spanid="highlight">only be expressed at increased temperatures</span>. </li>
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<h1class="title"><b>Our Solution</b></h1>
<p>Our project aims to increase wheat plants’ tolerance to heat stress by introducing three enzymes to wheat plants that will: </p>
<ol>
<li>Increase the rate of photosynthesis in plants, producing more carbohydrates (<b>SBPase</b>),</li>
<li>Decrease the plant stress hormone ethylene that reduces plant growth at increased temperatures (<b>ACC deaminase</b>), and </li>
<li>Maintain high ionic strength and maintain protein folding at increased temperatures (<b>Choline monooxygenase</b>).</li>
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<p>All three enzymes are activated by a heat inducible promoter and will only be expressed at increased temperatures. For more information, check out our <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/design">Project Design page</a>.</p>
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<h1class="title"><b>Our Experiments</b></h1>
<p>We built and tested 2 of our 3 enzyme constructs in wheat protoplasts as a proof of concept. Protoplasts are plant cells with their cell walls removed, which are easier to transform with foreign DNA. Discover more about our construct design, protoplast isolation, and heat shock experiments in our <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/experiments">Wet Lab pages</a>.</p>
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<p>We built and tested 2 of our 3 enzyme constructs in <spanid="highlight">wheat protoplasts</span> as a <spanid="highlight">proof of concept</span>. Protoplasts are plant cells with their cell walls removed, and are thus easier to transform with foreign DNA. </p>
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Our end goal is to engineer a <spanid="highlight">strain of wheat</span> with increased heat tolerance for <spanid="highlight">use by farmers</span> in agricultural land.
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<h1class="title"><b>Implementation</b></h1>
<p>Our goal is to engineer a strain of wheat with increased heat tolerance for use by farmers in agricultural land. Take a look at our <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/implementation">Implementation page</a> to look at our physical and genetic biocontainment strategies.</p>
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<h1class="title"><b>Modeling & Hardware</b></h1>
<p>In addition to the wet-lab work our team did, we had a subgroup working on modeling different aspects of our project:</p>
<ul>
<li>We designed, built, and tested a hardware device that can detect fluorescence from plants. This handheld device could be used to <b>measure the expression levels of our fluorescently-tagged genes of interest</b>. Our gene circuits only express the fluorescent proteins under heat stress, so this device could <b>measure plant stress</b> of crops. Our team mathematically modeled heat inducible gene circuits, with a focus on the ACC Deaminase pathway.</li>
<li>Our dry-lab team used bioinformatic techniques to look at differentially expressed genes in heat and drought-stressed wheat. </li>
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<p>More information about our modeling and hardware can be found on the <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/model">Modeling page</a>.</p>
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<p>We designed, built, and tested a <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/model">hardware device</a> that can detect fluorescence from plants. This portable device could be used in the field to <spanid="highlight">measure the expression levels of our fluorescently-tagged genes of interest</span>. Our gene circuits only express the fluorescent proteins under heat stress, so this device could <spanid="highlight">measure plant stress</span> of crops. </p>
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<p>Our team also <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/model#modelling">mathematically modelled</a> heat-inducible gene expression and enzyme kinetics, with a focus on the ACC deaminase pathway. Our Dry-Lab team also conducted a <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/model#bioinformatics">bioinformatics RNA-seq analysis</a> to identify differentially expressed genes and pathways in heat and drought-stressed wheat.</p>
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<h1class="title"><b>Integrated Human Practices</b></h1>
<p>We considered the downstream users of our project and who would be affected by its implementation. Our integrated human practices team interviewed farmers and visited wheat farms to hear from our potential users about the problems they are facing with increasing temperatures. We tried to incorporate the needs of our users into the design of our project at every stage from ideation to implementation.</p>
<p>For more information please look at our <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/human-practices">Integrated Human Practices page</a>.</p>
<p>Our team took on initiatives to communicate with the public about our project and synthetic biology. These initiatives included:</p>
<ul>
<li>Expert panels discussing GMO ethics or the differences in accessibility of synthetic biology research internationally.</li>
<li>A podcast about the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, highlighting those our project strives to address.</li>
<li>Volunteering in our community and with youth to teach about synthetic biology and help with a community garden.</li>
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<p>For more information about these initiatives check out our <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/education">Education and Communication page</a>.</p>
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Our <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/human-practices">Integrated Human Practices</a> team <spanid="highlight">interviewed farmers and visited wheat farms</span> to hear from our potential users about the problems they are facing with increasing temperatures. We tried to <spanid="highlight">incorporate the needs of our users</span> into the design of our project at every stage from ideation to implementation.
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<p>Our team took on initiatives to <ahref="https://2022.igem.wiki/ubc-vancouver/communication">communicate</a><spanid="highlight">with the public about our project and synthetic biology</span>:</p>
<ul>
<li><spanid="highlight">Expert panels</span> discussing GMO ethics and the accessibility of synthetic biology research internationally.</li>
<li>A <spanid="highlight">podcast</span> about the UN’s sustainable development goals.</li>
<li><spanid="highlight">Volunteering in our community</span>, mentoring youth and helping with a community garden.</li>
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<h1class="title"><b>Behind the Name</b></h1>
<p><i>Triticum aestivum</i> is the scientific name for Common Wheat. Our project involves working with synthetic biology to genetically engineer wheat. </p>
<p>We chose to work with wheat for our project because it is a major crop in Canada, <spanid="highlight">Canada is the fifth-largest wheat producer</span> in the world. Triticum aestivum is the scientific name for Common Wheat. Our project involves working with synthetic biology to genetically engineer wheat. </p>
