Hello everyone! We are a team from the University of Padua participating in the iGEM 2026 Space Village with our project C.O.S.M.I.C..
Our project aims to address the biological challenges of future missions to Mars by designing a bioreactor capable of providing full life support for humans using locally available resources. Specifically, we are engineering the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 to produce in situ oxygen and degrade perchlorates to make Martian water usable. The core of our design focuses exclusively on overcoming two major environmental obstacles: extreme radiation and water toxicity.
To achieve this, our engineering approach relies on:
- Radiation Protection: Utilizing the pprA gene from Deinococcus radiodurans to enhance the DNA protection and repair mechanisms of our chassis.
- Water Purification: Introducing the pcrABCD genes to initiate perchlorate degradation and integrating it with the cld (chlorite dismutase) gene to achieve the complete reduction of perchlorates.
- Biosafety & Biosecurity: Constructing a kill switch with a pPetE promoter (inducible by Cu2+ ions) that utilizes an inactivator/activator mechanism with the MazF toxin.
We would greatly appreciate the community’s feedback, particularly regarding our perchlorate degradation pathway and the imple mentation of the pprA gene for radiation resistance. We are very open to meeting up or joining on a quick call to discuss these aspects or any other details of the project with anyone willing to share their insights!
