Contribution
Producing insightful content that adds to existing knowledge in the field of biology has always been the main goal of our team. Complementing with our other goal, which is to bring about the betterment of humanity, we produced valuable information through the development of our project.
New Prospects for Future iGEM Teams ///
With endless nights of brainstorming, what our team always wanted to do was something innovative, something insightful, something revolutionary to the field. Our selection of cyanobacteria as our chassis does reflect our aim to a certain extent, but what we hope to bring to the field is not only that. We want to come up with an efficient while also innovative way to solve a large problem, experienced by many. In this case, stress.
To us, traditional ways to combat this challenge appeared to be too complicated and time-consuming. Methods such as physical or verbal therapy require patients to put in a lot of time and money, and the result is not always positive. Our method, on the other hand, has demonstrated great potential for success. We improved upon traditional methods of fragrance production in aromatherapy. With synthesized cyanobacteria and a well-designed bioreactor, we are able to produce aromas in a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective way, and further address widespread psychological issues. In sum, our methodology for sure provides insight into future biological research with cyanobacteria, aromatherapy, and psychological disorders.
New Parts ///
Cyanobacteria can synthesize dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and isopentyl diphosphate (IPP) via the MEP pathway, and introducing different enzymes into the cyanobacteria allows for the synthesis of terpenes using DMAPP and IPP. This year, we constructed seven different terpenes(α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, farnesene, bisabolene, sandalene and sandalol) synthesize into cyanobacteria. respectively. Additionally, we tested and constructed 4 different cyanobacterial suicide switches considering the potential hazards of engineered cyanobacteria. Finally we contributed a total of 11 basic and 12 composite parts.
A bioreactor suitable for multiple settings///
The bioreactor created by our team is suitable for multiple settings, home, cars, office alike. Another feature embodied in our bioreactor would be its ability in air purification. Due to its eco-friendly nature, our concept of bioreactor is able to contribute to environmental protection while also providing psychological benefits. We shed light into possible therapeutic usage of synthetically manipulated cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic organisms.
An Image Analysis Tool for Cyanobacteria Growth ///
Since our final goal is to have our product be applied in multiple settings to address the massive stress challenges, we finished a few rounds of engineering cycles and amassed valuable experience in terms of cyanobacteria culturing in different conditions. Based on that, we built an online available tool for people to easily estimate relative OD of their green algae or cyanobacteria using just a photo, which can be beneficial for other iGEMers to evaluate the growth of their cyanobacteria. Read more about it on our Model page and access the source code on Github.
Innovative Safety System in Cyanobacteria ///
The potential applications of genetically modified cyanobacteria are indeed promising, but there have been growing concerns regarding biosafety, particularly in relation to the unintended release into the natural environment. Thus, we introduce the suicidal system of cyanobacteria to ensure the safety of our project, which never been documented in iGEM. PpsbA2-sepA1-PisiA6803-sepT1, PpsbA2-sepA2-PisiA6803-sepT2, PpsbA2-sepA1-PisiA7942-sepT1, and PpsbA2-sepA2-PisiA7942-sepT2 were found in previous research with experimental designs in cyanobacteria such as 7942. Our project is the first to attempt to put those parts with cyanobacteria 6803.
Additionally, our team attempted to experiment alpha-pinene synthase, beta-pinene synthase, LIMS1, Part:BBa_J435283, and Part:BBa_J435283 in cyanobacteria, while previous teams only documented e.coli usage of these parts.
HP Experience and Suggestions ///
Our project made great contact with over 500 offline participants. And 98% of respondents expressed their interest to our project and willingness to use our product. So, we summarize some key suggestions for future iGEMers.
We also were able to achieve great success with our videos posted on social media, with over 4000 viewers, all gaining insight about synthetic biology and iGEM from our content. In this concept, we also have a list of tips for future iGEMers to follow to make more contribution on iGEM promotion.
