As a team of high school students, we are committed to effectively managing our time and ensuring a balance between our studies and project work. Each member of our team is dedicated to delivering exceptional performance in every aspect of our project. With a strong determination, we strive to present the best possible outcome. Below, we have outlined our successful fulfillment of all the medal criteria.
Bronze medal
Competition Deliverables
We have successfully submitted all the required competition deliverables for IGEM, including the Wiki, Project Promotion Video, Team Presentation, and Judging Form. Meanwhile, we will participate in the Judging session on time.
We have finalized the description page for our project, which effectively summarizes the core content of our project. This page introduces our research topic by presenting a real-life problem scenario and incorporates relevant images to enhance comprehension.
We are pleased to announce that we have successfully finalized the contribution page. We fully comprehend the significance of contributing to both the iGEM community and society as a whole.
As mentioned earlier, we have diligently documented several new parts on the iGEM public platform, which will prove invaluable for upcoming iGEM teams.
We have contributed genetically encoded and fluorescence-based intracellular NAD+ biosensor FiNad to the iGEM database.
We have contributed key plasmids for running the mammalian cell-based directed evolution system to the iGEM database.
By integrating any new reporter system other than FiNad, the future iGEM team will find it very easy to perform directed evolution to address their scientific questions.
Through these efforts, we aspire to create greater awareness and exposure for the field of synthetic biology among the general public.
We have written and completed the engineering success page for our wiki, which outlines the engineering design cycle (Design, Build, Test, Learn) that guides the entire engineering aspect of our project.Here is a brief summary: The TRACE system, which utilizes the AID-T7 RNAP-UGI Editor system, has been developed for constructing a mutation library in mammalian cells. This system allows for targeted mutations in genes by introducing random mutations through cytidine deaminase during transcription. The system was introduced to the iGEM competition team and aimed to improve the activity of NAD+ production enzymes. The team obtained a cell line pre-built with the Editor system and used it to validate the feasibility of the TRACE system by mutating the blue fluorescent protein (BFP) gene to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. Through rounds of failure and re-attempts, we observed significant green fluorescence, confirming the feasibility of the TRACE system.
We have established a comprehensive set of guiding principles that govern every aspect of our project. Paramount among these principles is our steadfast commitment to ensure that each component contributes significantly to enhancing the understanding of the tangible significance our project holds. Through our unwavering dedication and commitment to innovative approaches, we aim to create a project that not only influences society but is influenced by society in return, ensuring a mutually beneficial relationship between our project and the larger social fabric.
Regarding the themes of aging, NAD+ supplementation, and directed evolution, we have conducted objective surveys that have made us realize the importance of prevention and intervention in aging. We have conducted interviews with a scientist and two executives from companies, who provided valuable guidance and essential experimental reagents and strategies for our iGEM project. We have also shared and discussed our topics with other iGEM teams, promoting our project effectively. We have utilized both offline and online channels to promote our iGEM project, raise awareness of anti-aging, and engage in scientific outreach.
We have provided a library of plasmids containing many mutants of the key rate-limiting enzyme NAMPT in NAD+ biosynthesis, which is of great importance for later validation and possible industrial production.
We also provide a reporter component called FiNad for real-time monitoring of intracellular NAD+ levels. This component is crucial for future iGEM teams' research on NAD+.These two contributions give us the confidence to compete for the Best New Basic Parts.
We have provided all the molecular component information needed for directed evolution, which provides a good platform for future iGEM teams to conduct research and experiments in this direction. Our molecular components are also suitable for screening in mammalian cells, which is advantageous for the promotion of this system. Moreover, as long as new reporter components are provided, our directed evolution system can be applied to address any related scientific questions. These give us the confidence to compete for the Best Part Collection.
Regarding the themes of aging, NAD+ supplementation, and directed evolution, we have conducted objective surveys that have made us realize the importance of prevention and intervention in aging. We have conducted interviews with a scientist and two executives from companies, who provided valuable guidance and essential experimental reagents and strategies for our iGEM project. We have also shared and discussed our topics with other iGEM teams, promoting our project effectively. We have utilized both offline and online channels to promote our iGEM project, raise awareness of anti-aging, and engage in scientific outreach. Based on these efforts, we are confident to compete for the Best Integrated Human Practice.