Project Title: Engineering Houseplants for Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide Capture: Chloroplast-Targeted Expression of the Bacterial CODH Enzyme Complex in Nicotiana tabacum
The Problem This Project Addresses
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless toxic gas that cannot be detected by human senses. It is produced whenever something burns incompletely — gas heaters, stoves, car engines, fireplaces, and wood-burning appliances all release CO. Indoors, CO accumulates silently and can reach dangerous or fatal concentrations before anyone notices. The current standard of protection is a battery-powered electrochemical CO detector. These devices are excellent at detecting CO and sounding an alarm , but they cannot remove the gas from the air. Once the alarm sounds, the occupants must evacuate and ventilate the space manually. Furthermore, CO detectors require regular battery replacement and eventually need to be replaced entirely. In low-income households worldwide, detectors are frequently absent, have dead batteries, or are past their useful lifespan.