Eliminating Biofilms in Biofuels: A Bacterial Approach

by Anna Bete, Yazmin Camacho, Jonah Carter, Jason Dong, Christopher Guptil, Max Herrmann, Hayley Jesse, Peter Menart, Travis O’Leary, and Laura Polanka* (Carroll High School and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Air Force Research Laboratory) With growing environmental concerns on the rise in recent years, more companies and individuals are becoming aware of the environmental impact of traditional fossil fuels.

Biofuels enter the scene with a potential for reducing environmental impact and having high energy density. They are more environmentally friendly, renewable, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to their fossil fuel counterparts.

However, fuel storage tanks are susceptible to water leakage from rain water, cleaning, or contamination. Within the fuel, fatty acids coupled with the water create a “rag layer,” an ideal environment for bacterial and fungal growth. Within this rag layer, biofilms form and can compromise the integrity of the fuel if left untreated.

A small team of high school students from Dayton, Ohio are looking to combat and destroy biofilms in fuel storage tanks. The team of 10, comprised of rising seniors and graduated seniors from Carroll High School, are part of of the AFRL-Carroll iGEM team.

iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) Competition: Bacteria to Fight Biofilm

iGEM, an acronym for International Genetically Engineered Machine, is an annual synthetic biology competition where high school students and graduate level researchers from all over the world compete and share their work in SynBio.

The team from Carroll “LabPats” was one of 11 high school teams to earn Gold at the competition last year, and one of only three ever to earn a gold medal their first year. This year as a second year team with more experience, the LabPats are hoping to design a bacterium capable of sensing biofilms, have the ability to swim towards it, and then release a killing mechanism to destroy fungi and bacteria.

Being able to engineer a friendly E. coli cell to track down and destroy biofilms would equate to thousands of saved dollars for the U.S. military and the oil industry. All major oil refineries are investing in biofuels, with hundreds of fuel tanks dedicated to storing biofuels. Many companies spend thousands of dollars and labor hours cleaning and upkeeping storage tanks. The Air Force’s impressive fleet consists of thousands of civilian and military aircraft which rely on readily available fuel. With the Air Force’s goal to transition to using biofuels, it is essential that storage tanks remain in perfect condition.

Biofuels contaminated with biofilms can clog pipelines, degrade fuel tanks, and damage machinery. The Carroll Lab Pats aim to deploy an E. coli cell capable of tracking down biofilms within the fuel and releasing a killing mechanism, effectively eliminating bacterial and fungal biofilms to maintain the integrity of the fuel. With the help of mentors from the 711^th Human Performance Wing and Materials Directorate at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the students were able to experience graduate level biology in a world class facility.

“It’s a truly exhilarating experience. Being able to learn about biology at school and then applying them to the real world is an eye-opening experience,” exclaims Travis O’Leary ’19.

Next on the LabPats’ agenda includes designing their own website wiki page, reaching out to state legislature, designing synthetic biology brochures, and even creating their own SynBio music video parody.

They will be travelling to the Giant Jamboree in Boston in October to present to judges in hopes of earning a second Gold Medal.

(DISTRIBUTION A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.88ABW-2018 21 August 2018. and DISTRIBUTION A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.88ABW-2018-4440. 05 September 2018.)

* Anna Bete, Yazmin Camacho, Jonah Carter, Jason Dong, Christopher Guptil, Max Herrmann, Hayley Jesse, Peter Menart, Travis O’Leary, and Laura Polanka are seniors and graduated seniors from Carroll High School in Dayton, Ohio. They are part of the Air Force Research Laboratory-Carroll team engaged in the synthetic biology competition, International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM).