We’ve reached out and helped out some of our fellow researchers at other teams, as well as left a trail for future iGemer’s to see.
One of the researchers in the PIHS-Beijing, Yuxuan Wu, helped a researcher in BJYUAN-CHINA, Xirui Wang, to understand the basic technology of synthetic biology, such as PCR, electrophoresis, and enzyme cut and link. Wu also provided suggestions to Wang’s project, including gene insertion recommendations and project description improvements. Wu scrutinized Wang’s project using a judging form from Pioneer, offering a peer review. Wang expressed gratitude and wished success for Wu’s project.
We’ve designed parts of the lactoferrin protein and an array of CRISPR-Cas-related standard parts uploaded to the registry. Human LTF has four known isoforms: isoform1 to isoform4. Based on NCBI databank, we selected isoform 4 for our gene usage. To aid future LTF production, we modified and uploaded all four isoforms: BBa_K49710013 for isoform4, BBa_K4971008, BBa_K4971009, BBa_K4971010 for isoform1, isoform2, and isoform3, respectively. Additionally, we uploaded the plasmid used in part BBa_K4971015. We believe our work will inspire further research in producing LTF in bacteria, benefiting infants and anemia patients.
Regarding CRISPR, we aimed to use CRISPR/spCas9 to silence the CRISPR system in the target bacteria, acknowledging LTF’s bacteriostasis effects. We designed 7 pairs of CRISPR sequences based on functional Cas proteins in E.coli. Our design considered safety, sensitivity to bacteriophage attack, and adhered to strict lab rules to prevent potential leakage.