Team:Hamburg

Unicorn

An aMAIZEing concept

Our mission is to tackle the problems of pathogen infestation by fungi, bacteria or viruses in the agricultural sector. Many of the pathogens interact with the cell machinery of crops. A targeted synchronisation of gene expression in the plant is proposed to help fight this problem. The project aims at reducing annual crop losses and, most importantly,
avoid harmful pesticides.

Abstract

We propose a new mechanism, "transcriptional synchronisation", which connects the natural cell response to an input with the reliable expression of a target output, making synthetic gene control less complex and more replicable. With our project we try to match the transcription of an endogenous gene with a synthetically added output. The transcription of the endogenous gene would be intensified in the presence of e.g. pathogens or if induced synthetically. Thus, the transcription of the output will also be increased. The output could be a resistance against pathogens in crops, or it could be an activational signal in E. coli to produce certain compounds. For crops, it is also possible to match multiple resistances to the same or to various different genes so that an evolutionary adaptation to this mechanism is highly unlikely. After the proof of concept in E. coli, Zea mays and Arabidopsis thaliana we hope that our universally applicable method will be used to create sustainable pathogen and disease resistances in crops.

Promo-Video

This is a fairytale about a unicorn wandering around through nature and realising that plants are endangered by several threats, such as droughts and a growing number of plant pandemics. On its way through crop fields, the unicorn encounters a special cornfield with genetically modified corn. Our new mechanism can be used to save all plants!