Unity and solidarity have always been core values in the iGEM competition. Embracing these values, our team, iGEM Thessaly, is committed to supporting future teams. We aim to offer tools, knowledge, and resources through various contributions to the competition, sharing our experience and expertise with the teams of tomorrow. For the next competitors, we have prepared the following:
- Part contribution
- 2023 iGEM InterLaboratory study
- Guide on Crafting Homemade Bioplastic using everyday materials
- Guide to Organizing a Painting Exhibition for the iGEM Competition
- Comprehensive iGEM Team Building Guide for High School Educators and Students
During our project, our wet lab team performed experiments using 18 basic parts, from which 5 were provided with the distribution kit, 8 already existed in the registry, and 5 new basic parts, which were added to the registry. Using those basic parts, our team constructed and experimented on 17 composite parts. Detailed information about all these parts can be found on our Parts page, as well as on their respective individual pages on the iGEM registry. Below, we have listed some of our best-characterized parts.
| Part name | Registry Code | Part Type | Type of contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| PfadBA | BBa_K4624625 | Regulatory | Experimental results/literature review |
| PAR | BBa_K4624601 | Regulatory | Experimental results/literature review |
| fapR | BBa_K4624003 | Coding | Experimental results/literature review |
| laccase | BBa_K4624004 | Coding | Experimental results/literature review |
| Na.SP | BBa_K4624400 | Signaling | Experimental results/literature review |
| Linker-syfp2 | BBa_K4624007 | Composite | Experimental results |
| PFR1-syfp2-rrnB T1/T7TE + AraC/PBAD-fapR-rrnB T1/T7TE | BBa_K4624626 | Composite | Experimental results/literature review |
| fadR B3+B4+(B5) forward primer | BBa_K4624603 | Primer | Experimental results |
| fadR B3+B4 Reverse | BBa_K4624604 | Primer | Experimental results |
| fadR B3+B4+(B5) Reverse primer | BBa_K4624605 | Primer | Experimental results |
| fapR B3+B4+(B5) Forward primer | BBa_K4624606 | Primer | Experimental results |
| fapR B3+B4 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624607 | Primer | Experimental results |
| fapR B3+B4+B5 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624608 | Primer | Experimental results |
| accCD B4+(B5) Forward primer | BBa_K4624609 | Primer | Experimental results |
| accCD B4 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624610 | Primer | Experimental results |
| accCD B4+B5 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624611 | Primer | Experimental results |
| accase B4+(B5) Forward primer | BBa_K4624612 | Primer | Experimental results |
| laccase B4 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624613 | Primer | Experimental results |
| laccase B4+B5 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624614 | Primer | Experimental results |
| lacI B3+B4+(B5) Forward primer | BBa_K4624615 | Primer | Experimental results |
| lacI B3+B4 Reverse primer | BBa_K4624616 | Primer | Experimental results |
| lacI B3+B4+(B5) Reverse primer | BBa_K4624617 | Primer | Experimental results |
For the second consecutive year, our team, iGEM Thessaly, participated in the 7th iGEM Interlaboratory study, an initiative aiming to address the challenges stemming from variations in equipment and data processing among laboratories worldwide. Alongside numerous other iGEM teams, we successfully executed the calibration protocol and submitted our data for experiments 1, 2, and 3 as part of the Interlab study. On our Interlab page, we present the results from the seventh inter-lab study, an in-depth documentation of the experiments we conducted, and any challenges we encountered throughout the process, aiming to provide valuable troubleshooting insights for future iGEM teams participating in the Interlab study.
Our team’s final, high-value product is PHA biopolymers that can be utilized for the production of bioplastic. From our research, we found out that even though the fact that bioplastic is biodegradable is common knowledge, the majority of people are not familiar with this innovative material’s appearance and texture. To foster their understanding of this environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plastic, our team created a recipe, a step-by-step kitchen guide on how to make bioplastic. This initiative aimed to help the public view bioplastic, not as something foreign, but rather as an eco-friendlier form of plastic.
On our iGEM journey, our team gained a lot of new knowledge including how to organize an art exhibition. We thought it was important to write a guide, providing new iGEM teams with instructions on how to build their own Art Exhibition, since we believe that art is one of the best ways to communicate science, even to the most demanding audience. Moreover, in this guide, we wanted to underline how important it is to make sure that the artists taking part in the exhibition are deeply familiar with the concepts on which the event is based. For example, in our case, we had to explain the terms “olive mill wastewater”, “synthetic biology”, “bacterial consortium”, etc. Lastly, the guide hopes to prepare future iGEM teams and give them advice on their quest for a space to house the exhibition and equipment needed.
Our team envisions that like the issue on OMW, many other Sustainable Development Goals will be addressed by future iGEM teams, empowered to utilize synthetic biology. For that purpose, we aimed to offer our assistance in explaining the deliverables of the competition, its values, and principles. The main goal of this guide is to provide new iGEMers with the right motivation to embark on their SynBio journey, regardless of their educational background, to work together and give the answer to one of the world’s most pressing issues.