2009 CSL Undergraduate Summer Research Stipend Report
Aram Apyan | Evan Estola | Erik Harpstead | Jae Kwan Lee | Ryan McClure | Jesse Reinhardt | Peter Schemmel | Andrew Yates
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Jesse Reinhardt
Fourth-year undergraduate, Biochemistry
Ben Stark
Professor of Biology
ENGINEERING BACTERIUM TO UTILIZE DBT IN CRUDE OIL
Just a few years ago, Jesse was working at Wrigley Field, washing dishes and preparing food, trying to figure out what to do next. He initially enrolled in Truman College for biotechnology, and then transferred to IIT in Fall 2006.
After ranking first in Professor Stark's genetics class, Jesse was soon working in Stark's lab on a two-year research project for Saudi Aramco with IIT Research Professor John Kilbane.
Their goal is to engineer bacteria that can utilize dibenzothiophene (DBT), the major sulfur component in crude oil, so that when refined to gasoline it releases less sulfur into the atmosphere. In one process, three genes linked together as an operon (dszABC) can catalyze reactions to do this; but no bacteria can do this at a rate feasible for industry and at high (≥60° C) temperatures, so one must be made. "Saudi Aramco wants a bacterium that can survive at higher than 60° C and use DBT like a banshee," explained Stark.
This summer, Jesse worked to find dszABC operons that will encode enzymes to function at high temperatures, and to obtain bacteria that will grow at high temperatures, in high salt concentrations, and in the presence of crude oil.
He put soil samples (from under the Chicago el, the Grand Canyon, and Hot Springs, AR) through growth regimens to select for the right characteristics. Ultimately, he created a library of strains that can be combined and tested to produce an engineered strain that can grow at high temperatures with DBT, and eventually crude oil, as their sole sulfur source.
"It was really a good experience," Jesse said. "I've been able to get in-depth, hands-on skills that are hard to get by just taking regular classes. I definitely like research." He plans to graduate this December, work for the next year and a half to save money, and then enter medical school in fall 2011 and specialize in infectious diseases.
Download the 2009 Undergraduate Summer Research Stipend report. (1 MB .pdf)
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