This project tackles the issue of crops lost due to frost by creating a mechanism to disperse antifreeze proteins during cold weather.

Antifreeze puffballs provide a solution to the growing demand for global food, and the difficulty of producing it due to climate change.  Based on the spore dispersal mechanism of powder mushrooms, and on the protection against frost provided by antifreeze proteins;  our system seeks to alleviate the effects of frost on agricultural crops in communities of the future.

The project explores the possibility of using agricultrual waste to feed a bioinspired biorreactor that produces protective compounds for the crop the waste came from. The project uses grape bagasse to feed a biorreactor where bacteria produce antifreezing proteins (AFPs). AFPs are a unique type of protein that can bind to the nucleus of a growing ice crystal, preventing its growth and therefore protecting the organism that is facing the freezing temperatures. The two main ideas between this project are the need to improve the efficiency of food production in a difficult context because of climate change, and the need of a circular economy where all the biologycal wastes of production processes can be utilized and add value.

This work was made in the context of the biodesign challenge under the guide of the interdisciplinary team Sistemas Materiales, lead by Heidi Jalkh and Leonardo Majul. This project created by Clara Scoltore, Delfina Freude and Marco Mancini

Some linksto our project: https://www.biodesignchallenge.org/uba-2022