Microbe Hackers Research Projects In the Microbe Hackers lab, our research projects are conducted with input from our students. Our Cyanobacteria project was initiated by advanced iGEM undergraduates in 2016 and has continued as a project that our Microbe Hackers’ students work on since then. Other projects were initially conceived by Professor Mishler or Professor Barrick, but have been worked on extensively (and sometimes exclusively!) by undergraduates in the group. Currently, we have four active areas of research (click to learn more): Bee Project Cyanobacterial Biosensors Caffeinated Coli Evolutionary Stability Over the years, we have had many projects. Some projects have seen success after many attempts. Other projects, despite our best efforts, have not gone as we originally planned. Below are a number of retired projects. Some of these projects were the inspiration for starting other areas of research or have been folded into active projects. 1. Kombucha – Not Active. The main project of our 2016 iGEM team, Kombucha is a “brewed beverage”, made by yeast and bacteria. We were attempting to isolate and genetically engineer these organisms in hopes of creating a “designer kombucha”. After some exciting initial success in 2016, it became difficult to engineer these organisms, and as our main Kombucha experts graduated in Spring 2019, we decided to put the project on the shelves. The “‘Bucha Bunch” will live on in memory. 2. Mars/UV – Not Active. One of the main projects of our 2018 iGEM team, the Mars/UV project sough to genetically modify organisms for one of two purposes. First, to serve as either bacterial sunscreen, preventing harmful UV from reaching your skin. Second, to help colonize Mars by engineering the bacteria to be better suited for living on Mars, dealing with hostile growing conditions, including UV, cold temperatures, and perchlorates in the soil. 3. pH sensors – Not Active. One of our earlier projects in 2015, this project sought to create reporters that would respond to differing pH conditions. Eventually, this project morphed into our Chromoproteins project, which was most active in 2017-2018. The chromoproteins project was folded into our BHR Kit project in Sp2019. 4. Neonicotinoids – Not Active. One of our first 2015 projects. This ambitious project sought to isolate bacteria that could degrade neonicotinoid pesticides, in hopes of finding genes that could degrade these molecules. The goal was to then engineer bacteria to protect honeybees, by establishing genetically modified (probiotic) bacteria inside of bee guts to help them survive against pesticides. 5. Broad Host Range Kit – Not Active. The Broad Host Range Kit (BHR Kit) project was initiated as part of the UT Austin iGEM team in 2017 and 2018 with the help of Sean Leonard (a graduate student in the Barrick lab) and sought to identify DNA sequences that can be used to genetically modify a broad range of bacteria, including non-model organisms (organisms that are not commonly studied).
