Corrosion of metals is a natural phenomenon, and in a sense, "corrosion is inevitable." Worldwide, 30%-40% of the total steel production is scrapped annually due to corrosion, and approximately one-third of it cannot be recycled. In recent years, increasing research has shown that certain microorganisms can form biofilms on metal surfaces, serving as a means of corrosion protection by removing corrosive cathodic media (e.g., oxygen), inhibiting the growth of corrosive microorganisms, and forming protective layers on the metal surface. Compared to traditional corrosion protection methods, microbial biofilms are cost-effective, versatile, and easily manageable. However, microbial biofilms often suffer from inadequate adhesion to metal surfaces, uneven distribution, low coverage, and an inability to maintain long-term corrosion protection.
    As researchers contemplate how to address the shortcomings of microbial biofilm materials and seek breakthroughs, attention was drawn to a news report about the discovery of numerous barnacles clustered on the hull of a ship. This led to associations with mussels. The adhesive ability of mussels primarily relies on mussel foot proteins (Mfps). If it were possible to connect biofilm proteins with mussel foot proteins through molecular biology techniques, they could possess adhesive capabilities similar to mussels, thus adhering firmly to metal surfaces and better fulfilling their corrosion protection potential.

In the process of development across various industries, the use of metal equipment is indispensable. However, in the humid environments generated in marine settings, metal products are highly susceptible to corrosion. The corrosion caused by marine environments in China accounts for approximately one-third of the total corrosion losses. China's coastal regions encompass 14 provinces, 53 cities, 242 districts, and have a total coastline length of 32,000 kilometers. These regions are home to various ports, shipyards, fishing zones, and more. The extensive coastline results in substantial costs for marine metal corrosion protection, but it also brings about rich biodiversity in marine species. For example, there are up to 698 species of common and endangered mollusks, with mussels, often referred to as "ocean eggs," being the most common among them.

We deeply discussed with our teacher the idea of using biofilm protein and mussel bysin in metal preservation by molecular biological means. The teacher acknowledged our idea, but said that our idea was not perfect enough at present, and we needed to further think about the feasibility of the experiment. According to his own research experience, the teacher put forward some directional suggestions for us, the teacher said: "Since the biofilm is used as the anti-corrosion coating, the improvement of the membrane formation efficiency of the engineered bacteria is definitely an optimization method, you can start from this direction, and check whether there is a way to increase the expression of this gene in the bacteria." Under the teacher's instruction, we found through literature review that the film formation rate could be effectively improved by mutating ompR gene into ompR234 in Escherichia coli.

In order to better align our project with real-world applications, we conducted interviews with individuals who have extensive experience living near the coast. These interviews aimed to gather insights into potential issues that may arise during the implementation of our project and its overall feasibility. We sought answers to our questions through these conversations.
    Following the interviews, we received valuable feedback and suggestions from these individuals. They emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of the materials used in the project to prevent any harm to human health. Additionally, they expressed doubts about whether our project can truly serve as an effective corrosion prevention solution and raised concerns about the reliability of the adhesion capabilities.

On August 7th, we visited Liaoning Shunda Mechanical Manufacturing Co., Ltd. During our visit to the factory, the staff provided us with an overview of the company's main products and various mechanical processing projects. They guided us through the production and processing workshops, clean production areas, and anti-corrosion coating processing areas. Additionally, we conducted interviews with industry professionals, delving into topics related to anti-corrosion coatings and metal corrosion prevention.

    On August 8th, we established contact with Bohai Shipbuilding College in Liaoning Province. We had discussions and interviews with students and teachers who stayed on campus during the summer break. We gained insights from the teachers and students regarding ship hull structures and engaged in discussions related to hull corrosion prevention. We also visited various sections of heavy-duty ship hulls and models of different ship hulls, which provided us with preliminary knowledge about ship hull structures.

    Additionally, we all visited the China Industrial Museum, which chronicles the development and glory of Shenyang, preserving the youth and memories of countless industrial workers. Upon entering the museum, a cool breeze and the scent of machine oil greeted us. The cold industrial style and strong historical presence left a lasting impression. From individual metal parts to metal machine tools and large machines, the museum showcases the irreplaceable role of metal in the industrial era.

    Through the above investigations, we have become more confident in our concept and plans for the project. We believe this will be an exciting research experience!

After the above visits and investigations, our team's goal is to use biofilms as a new type of anti-corrosion coating to mitigate marine metal corrosion. The specific approach is to design a new type of living functional microbial biofilm called BMCP (Biofilm for Metal Corrosion Prevention). This will be achieved by connecting the CsgA protein secreted by E. coli with the foot protein of mussels to address the issue of insufficient adhesion strength of the biofilm. While ensuring corrosion prevention efficiency, we also consider prolonging the lifespan of the biofilm through biomineralization.

Environmental concerns are a critical aspect of our project, and we acknowledge the potential risks associated with genetically edited microorganisms, which may undergo mutations more easily in their subsequent life cycles, potentially leading to environmental pollution. To address this issue and ensure sustainability, we conducted brainstorming sessions within our team. After extensive discussions and consideration, we decided to seek assistance from experts.
    We interviewed and consulted Dr. Yongjin Zhou, a research fellow at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is the head of the Synthetic Biology and Biocatalysis Innovation Zone research group. Dr. Zhou suggested implementing a "suicide switch" for the microorganisms. This switch would activate a self-destruction program within the cells once the concentration of arabinose in the surrounding environment exceeds a certain threshold, thus preventing environmental contamination.

During the summer break, we actively engaged in academic exchanges and communication with other iGEM teams. They provided valuable assistance for our experiments and education, enabling us to optimize our project and make its content more comprehensive and enriching. In these academic exchanges, we focused on discussing experiment details with other iGEM teams. They promptly identified some issues in our experimental plans and offered suggestions for modifications, which greatly moved us. At the same time, we did our best to assist them as well. These pleasant collaborative experiences made us feel the warmth and joy of the iGEM community.

In our project, laboratory publicity is also a top priority. In order to achieve the purpose of publicity, we first produced a laboratory safety manual and displayed it in the public account. The laboratory is an important place for our project research, and we have collected and sorted out many precautions in the experiment, aiming to let the public know more about biological experiments and understand our project through the laboratory safety manual.

    In addition to the laboratory safety manual, we also recorded videos of experiments to achieve the effect of publicity. The RBS transformation of Escherichia coli is a part of our project experiment. In the video, we explain this experimental process step by step. We hope that through this video, the public will have an in-depth understanding of biological experiments and feel the fun of biological experiments, and also provide some effective ideas for other teams.

    While promoting our project through our public platform, we have also taken into consideration the impact of cultural and language differences. We have created promotional materials in five different languages to reach people from various regions, showcasing our openness and inclusivity. This initiative allows teams from overseas to understand our project and related knowledge, fostering global collaboration and understanding.

In order to better carry out and optimize the project, we conducted a questionnaire survey on different groups, so as to understand the understanding degree and opinions of people in various fields on relevant knowledge.
    In the survey of middle school students, most of the students have known or been exposed to metal corrosion, and these corrupted metals have indeed brought varying degrees of impact on their daily life, and they are also deeply aware of the high losses caused by metal corrosion.
    Affected by the three-year epidemic, students have also come into contact with a large number of biological products, of which various vaccines and detection reagents are the most common, and believe that biological products are an indispensable part of our lives. In the aspect of synthetic biology, a large number of students have heard about synthetic biology for a long time or have taken the initiative to understand part of the relevant knowledge, but they are still relatively unfamiliar with iGEM competition.
    According to the public survey data, more than half of the participants considered the corrosion problem to be somewhat serious, and only one in 10 participants considered the corrosion problem to be mi

We hope that the application of BMCP can provide a new and environmentally friendly biological control method for Marine metal preservation. In our vision, our products will eventually be used for static metal corrosion protection in the Marine environment, such as small metal parts for ship hulls, metal pipes, wharf metal guardrails and steel pipe columns in ports.
    In the face of the above needs of users, we want to BMCP in the form of an anti-corrosion coating to deliver the product to the hands of users. We make BMCP into anti-corrosion coating has the following advantages: the use of familiar and simple greatly simplifies the user's operation steps, there are better production standards more suitable for mass production, storage conditions are not harsh, we can also provide users with matching coating spray bottle or coating brush. In addition, we hope that our products can truly enter People's Daily life, make use of its advantages of simplicity and efficiency, play to the superior performance that is difficult to achieve by existing technical means, and assist production and life to the greatest extent with an innovative attitude.