https://video.igem.org/videos/watch/f7b8c503-7c85-4b52-82b1-c88b7fba3db5 Title: Vinalysis: A rapid test for smoke-tainted grapes Description: Smoke taint occurs when wildfire smoke phenols enter grapes and bind to sugars. These hidden phenols cannot be tasted in the fruit, but fermentation frees them, causing a smoky taste that renders the wine unsellable. Smoke taint affects vineyards worldwide, causing over $500 million in losses to Australian wine production in 2020. Current laboratory tests are expensive and take weeks, creating a problematic blind spot right before harvest. We aim to create an affordable, rapid triage system to test grapes on-site. First, we use enzymatic cleavage to break down the grape skin and free the trapped phenols from their sugars. We are detecting two common smoke phenols: guaiacol and syringol. We have incorporated a guaiacol-binding aptamer into an RNA riboswitch, meaning that when guaiacol is detected and binds to the aptamer, the riboswitch changes shape, resulting in translation of the GFP gene. Using the transcription factor DesX, we are detecting syringol. Syringol triggers DesX to undergo a shape change, allowing it to bind to a DesX responsive promoter, resulting in transcription of the GFP gene. This triage system provides winemakers with immediate, actionable data. Wiki | Official Page Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:54:54 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://video.igem.org https://video.igem.org/client/assets/images/icons/icon-1500x1500.png https://video.igem.org/videos/watch/f7b8c503-7c85-4b52-82b1-c88b7fba3db5 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://video.igem.org/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.