Saving the Ocean with

Genetics
By: Lucy Ostrowski and Lucy Mogan
What is the Issue?
Ocean Acidification- The reduction of the oceans pH levels
over time.

Carbon Dioxide is absorbed into the water causing it to

become acidic.
What are the Effects?
- Calcium carbonate-producing
organisms are negatively
affected
- Coral reef skeletons are
unable to be built
- Marine animals are losing their
homes
Why Should We Care?
The lowering pH levels are killing
a lot of organisms in the oceans

- Decreasing the amount of

food for humans
- Killing off organisms we use
for medicines
Our Solution
Genetically modify algae to have more chloroplasts.

- Takes in more light, therefore taking in more CO₂

- When more CO₂ is taken in, more oxygen is produced and
the pH levels of the ocean increase
- As pH levels increase, ocean acidification decreases
Step 1
Isolate DNA
 Step 2
Isolate the Gene
 Step 3

Overexpress the
gene
 Step 4
Relocate into the
ocean
Why is this the Best Solution?
- This solution does not require humans to put more
machinery in the ocean
- It does not produce pollution
- It is semi- natural because we are putting natural
ingredients and organisms back into the ocean
- Self sufficient, once the organism is genetically modified, it
will reproduce separately, without our help.
Before After
Our Mentor:
Libby Jewett, the director of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program. Email:
Libby.Jewett@noaa.gov
Our email to her:
Dear Dr. Libby Jewett,
We are STEM students from San Marin High School in Northern California and we are doing a project
on ocean acidification. In our project, we are supposed to find a biotechnology solution to a worldwide
problem, and we are looking for a mentor, and we saw that you are knowledgeable on the topic of ocean
acidification. Through our research we understand that carbon dioxide emissions decrease the pH levels of
the ocean through chemical reactions, so we realized that this was a main factor in recent ocean
acidification. Our idea is to genetically modify algae to take in more sunlight, which would increase
photosynthetic productivity, therefore taking in more carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis.
This will hopefully decrease the amount of CO₂ and increase the pH levels in the ocean. We were
wondering if you had heard of this type of solution, or if you had any background knowledge in this subject.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Lucy Mogan and Lucy Ostrowski from San Marin High School.
Work Cited
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/squishy-science-extract-dna-from-smashed-strawberrie
s/
https://www.thoughtco.com/red-algae-rhodophyta-2291974
http://algaebiomass.org/wp-content/gallery/2012-algae-biomass-summit/2010/06/T1_Wed_1030_J
Benemann.pdf
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/coralline-algae-unsung-architects-coral-reefs
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5958761A/en
Libby.Jewett@noaa.gov
https://oceanacidification.noaa.gov/OurChangingOcean.aspx
https://www.whoi.edu/OCB-OA/page.do?pid=112136
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/7/074008
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/rog.20004
https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014009/meta