Team:Lambert GA/Description

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DESCRIPTION

Abstract

Hydroponics is a compact modular form of agriculture that addresses food insecurity by producing nutrient-dense, high-yield crops [1] [2]. However, maintaining small-scale systems introduces nutrient fluctuations thus declining plant health, impeding the implementation of hydroponics in urban communities [3] [4]. To combat these barriers and increase the frequency of hydroponics use, AgroSENSE provides an accurate and efficient method of nutrient monitoring and pathogen detection, while simultaneously addressing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We utilize our phosphate and nitrate biosensors and Fusarium and Phytophthora toehold switches in conjunction with our frugal plate reader for fluorescence quantification. To safely distribute our biosensors, we developed a frugal lyophilizer to freeze-dry cell-free lysates and bacterial samples. We collaborated with the Georgia Department of Agriculture on a regulatory proposal for agricultural biosensors to address biosecurity gaps and led community-centered synthetic biology educational outreach programs. AgroSENSE allows hydroponics users to proactively adjust system maintenance, ultimately increasing harvest yields and sustainability.

Figure 1. AgroSENSE 2020 to 2021 project progression.

Defining the Problem

Across America, roughly 23.5 million Americans live in food-insecure households [5]. These Americans are limited to highly processed food or fast foods, which have been linked to chronic illnesses, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and even premature death. Despite efforts by multinational aid organizations and local food banks to curb rates of malnourishment and related health problems, food insecurity still affects more than 10% of American households (see Fig. 1) [7].

Figure 2. Since 2001, food insecurity has affected more than 10% of American households.

What is Hydroponics?

Hydroponics is a form of agriculture that utilizes aqueous nutrient solutions as a nutrient source instead of soil, as is traditionally used [2]. Hydroponics has many benefits compared to traditional soil agriculture, such as significantly higher crop density, year-round growth, and decreased dependence on the availability of arable land [1] [2]. These advantages can enable people experiencing food insecurity to gain access to locally-sourced and nutritious food, a direct response to the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, Good Health and Wellbeing. Since hydroponics can utilize vertical farming and multiple harvests in a year, crop density can be increased by a factor of 516, which decreases food insecurity in urban areas and addresses UN SDG 2, Zero Hunger [8]. The utility of hydroponics in urban areas also means that residents of densely-populated areas can use hydroponics to reduce transportation costs to confront UN SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities. Hydroponics is a contemporary mode of agriculture that is equipped to address issues of the 21st century.

Barriers

Despite the optimistic promises of hydroponics, current hydroponics systems are unable to live up to their full potential. Compared to commercial systems, small-scale hydroponics systems are more susceptible to nutrient fluctuations, causing diminished crop yields [9]. The chemicals used for some methods of nitrate testing are toxic, pose a health hazard, and are environmentally damaging [10]. In addition, if nutrients fluctuate outside of the optimal range, the farmers are forced to discard their water and restart the system [11]. Fluctuations of these nutrients can increase susceptibility to plant disease, resulting in a smaller yield [12]. During the 2020 season, Lambert iGEM’s hydroponics system suffered from plant disease that was difficult to treat. As we discovered firsthand, plant disease is nearly impossible to detect or diagnose in a timely manner. By the time that a farmer notices visible symptoms, the plant has little to no chance for survival, and has likely infected other plants in its vicinity. The combination of these factors are ultimately detrimental to the goal of producing nutrient-dense and high-yield crops.

Our Approach

Lambert iGEM’s AgroSENSE utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach to address inefficiencies of hydroponics and thereby mitigate food insecurity. Our work with nutrient and plant pathogen biosensors is supplemented by hardware that meshes with our goals. We continued to collaborate with our stakeholders to ethically address the challenges of hydroponics.

AgroSENSE utilizes nitrate and phosphate biosensors in conjunction with our frugal plate reader to provide accurate nutrient levels in a time-efficient manner. We continued characterization of our phosphate biosensor from our work during the 2020 season. We also implemented our nitrate biosensor into a cell-free system to address biosafety issues.

In addition, our plant pathogen biosensors for Fusarium oxysporum and Phytophthora cryptogea can detect disease during the spore stage, allowing farmers to adjust their maintenance plans accordingly to prevent the spread of disease. This allows farmers to decrease their crop loss and water use, while increasing their harvests and profit.

To address the biosafety issues associated with the use of E. coli-based biosensors in agricultural contexts, we created cell-free systems of our nitrate biosensor, as well as a frugal lyophilizer that can be utilized for our nitrate and phosphate biosensors. At a broader level, we are also working with the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Bio, a life sciences nonprofit organization, to develop regulation for the safe distribution and disposal of biosensors in the agricultural market.

As we moved through our project, we discovered that knowledge about synthetic biology is not widespread due to its relative novelty as a field. We worked with ONASI Bilingual College in Cameroon to provide lessons and hands-on lab activities in the field of synthetic biology for driven high school students. In addition, we wrote and illustrated a storybook, Grow and Glow, for elementary school-aged children in our local community. Both of these in turn carry out the targets for UN SDG 4, Quality Education.

References

[1] Treftz, C. & Omaye, S. (2015). Nutrient Analysis of Soil and Soilless Strawberries and Raspberries Grown in a Greenhouse. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 6(9), 805-815. http://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2015.69084

[2] Kratsch, H. & Omaye, S. (n.d.). Hydroponics: A Brief Guide to Growing Food Without Soil. https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=2756

[3] Campos-Soriano, et al. (2020). Phosphate excess increases susceptibility to pathogen infection in rice. Molecular Plant Pathology, 21(4), 555-570. https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12916

[4] Sun, et al. (2020). Unravelling the Roles of Nitrogen Nutrition in Plant Disease Defences. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(2), 572. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21020572

[5] United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2019). Food Access Research Atlas. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas.aspx

[6] Fuhrman, J. (2018). The Hidden Dangers of Fast and Processed Food. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 12(5), 375-381. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1559827618
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[7] Coleman-Jensen, A. (2021). Food Insecurity in U.S. Households in 2018 is Down from 2017, Continuing Trend and Returning to Pre-Recession (2007) Level. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2019/
10/03/food-insecurity-us-households-2018-down-2017-continuing-trend-and-returning

[8] Banerjee, C. & Adenaeuer, L. (2014). Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming. Journal of Agricultural Studies, 2(1), 40-60. https://doi.org/10.5296/jas.v2i1.4526

[9] Bumgarner, N. & Hochmuth, R. (2019). An Introduction to Small-Scale Soilless and Hydroponic Vegetable Production. https://extension.tennessee.edu/
publications/Documents/W844-A.pdf

[10] Diphenylamine SDS; 29CFR1910/1200 [Online]; Fisher Scientific: Rochester, NY, 2014, https://beta-static.fishersci.com/content/dam/fishersci/en
_US/documents/programs/education
/regulatory-documents/sds/chemicals/chemicals-d/S25302.pdf (October 21, 2021).

[11] Van Patten, G. F. (2004). Hydroponic Basics. Van Patten Publishing.

[12] Hoidal, N. (2020). Small-scale hydroponics. https://extension.umn.edu/how/small-scale-hydroponics#sources-2645960