Team:Missouri Miners/Project

Overall project
The goal of this research is the manipulation of yeast cells; granting them the capability of measuring the concentration of ethanol present. This project utilizes the metabolic pathways of the yeast Pichia pastoris, which are capable of metabolizing ethanol and methanol. The enzyme, alcohol oxidase (AO), encoded in the AOXI gene appears to be the major enzyme involved in methanol metabolism. If both carbon sources are present, however, P. pastoris prefers to utilize ethanol first. This preference is controlled by the AOXI promoter. Fusing the AOXI promoter with a fluorescent protein gene will allow visible detection of the expression of AOXI. In supplying the yeast with ethanol and methanol simultaneously, the cells should produce the fluorescent protein after ethanol consumption; resulting in a visible color and fluorescence. The concentration of ethanol can be determined by measuring the time before fluorescence and in doing so, will make plausible the development of a breathalyzer device and additional sensor systems.

Project Details
Possible Methanol Sensor Applications:


 * Gasoline: Both methanol and ethanol are used to alter the oxygen content of gasoline, creating the need for a way to detect and measure these additives.
 * Homebrewing: It's well known that if you don't distill the methanol out of your moonshine you'll go blind.  A bacteria-based biological methanol-sensor could provide an inexpensive way to test the safety of a distillate.
 * Methanol Fermentation: There are a few species of bacteria and yeast that use methanol as a fermentation substrate.  Too much however will disrupt the metabolic process.