Overview:

A large percentage of iGem work is done behind the scenes, tinkering in a lab and running trials over and over again to discover what works and what does not. While this experimentation is the backbone of scientific discovery, the heart is impact and interaction with the community. Our 2022 iGem team focused on effective communication with local farmers to learn how our project could best serve their needs.

Farmers:

The main objective of our project was to create a dirt sample kit that could serve as a quick, simple, and affordable method of determining the concentration of phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, and copper using nutrient-specific promoters controlling the expression of Beta-lactamase. To make a kit that would be both effective and efficient, we hosted interviews with local farmers and asked them about their current soil testing procedures.