We have earned the Silver medal!

Introduction

Coming from Wuhan, Hubei province, we are Nematode inspectors, aiming to determine whether the concentration of algae in certain water will do harm to fish product.

Abstract

Human health depends greatly on natural environment. Water bloom and microcystin pollution are two global issues concerning more than 60 countries around the world. One of the major cyanobacteria that caused water bloom in China is Microcystis aeruginosa. Its enrichment and metabolite, microcystin, hazard the public health, economy and ecology. The world urgently needs solutions on detecting and preventing water blooms at early stages. C. elegans have a sensitive olfactory system, which enables them to quickly exhibit different substances. Our group use gene-edited C. elegans and a biochip to achieve early detecting. The plasmid injected into the C. elegans enables them to turn blue when exposed to certain concentration of microcystin. C. elegans will move to samples with prewarning concentration and above of algae. We determine if the sample has reach the prewarning concentration simply by observing the number and color of C. elegans. Using this Algalchip, we can detect the concentration of algae and microcystin, so as to prevent water blooms and protect ourselves.

Our product

As a model organism, nematodes exhibit strong reproductive ability and have a short life cycle, making them suitable for generating mutants. Most importantly, Nematodes possess a sensitive olfactory system, and our experiments have demonstrated their ability to detect algal blooms. Our product possesses excellent real-time capability and is cost-effective for detection.

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