iGEM@school

For a budding young discipline like Synthetic Biology it is important not to leave the general population behind. Therefore, we devised a basic course to introduce high school students to the core concepts and underlying technologies of synthetic biology. To put this into action, we collaborated with Dr. Michael Germ from the biodidactics department, who is also a teacher at the local Gymnasium Neubiberg, and Christian Preger, one of his students, who is writing a thesis on this project.

The course consisted of two two-hour theoretical classes given at school (mostly prepared by Chris) and a one-unit practical at the LMU laboratories. After a quick biology brush up the students learned about cutting edge topics in synthetic biology especially considering their social implications. In the practical, which was held on June 25th the students got to get some hands-on experience in SynBio foundational technologies.

After a thorough introduction on lab safety we started with a few exercises on exact pipetting. After that they did a plasmid preparation, restriction digest and ligation. The products were verified by agarose gel electrophoresis. The finished plasmids were then transformed into competent E. coli cells. The different groups cloned either RFP (which led to red colonies), lacZ (which led to blue colonies) or an isoamyl-esterase (which produced banana smell). The second theoretical unit was held a week later, again at the Gymnasium Neubiberg.

The students were really excited about getting to see some pictures of the bacteria they had “built” themselves (despite the fact that, unfortunately not all results were positive). All in all these highschoolers are now familiar with the possibilities and basic methods of Synthetic Biology. Most of them felt positive about these technologies, which is a definite success, especially considering the strong prejudice against GMO in Germany. More on the speculative side we hope to have inspired some of these students enough to one day take up the pipettes themselves and join the ranks of synthetic biologists.

Hi there!

Welcome to our Wiki! I'm BaKillus, the pathogen-hunting microbe, and I'll guide you on this tour through our project. If you want to learn more about a specific step, you can simply close the tour and come back to it anytime you like. So let's start!

What's the problem?

First of all, what am I doing here? The problem is, pathogenic bacteria all around the world are becoming more and more resistant against antimicrobial drugs. One major reason for the trend is the inappropriate use of drugs. With my BaKillus super powers, I want to reduce this misuse and thus do my part to save global health.

Sensing of pathogens

To combat the pathogenic bacteria, I simply eavesdrop on their communication. Bacteria talk with each other via quorum sensing systems, which I use to detect them and trigger my responses.

Adhesion

The more specific and effective I can use my powers, the lower the danger is of provoking new resistance development. So I catch pathogens whenever I get hold of them and stick to them until my work is done.

Killing

Talking about my work - killing pathogens is finally what I am made for. In response to quorum sensing molecules of the pathogens, I export a range of antimicrobial substances leading to dissipation of biofilms and the killing of the targeted bacteria.

Suicide switch

When the job is done and all the bad guys are finished, you don't need a super hero anymore. So after fulfilling my work I say goodbye to the world by activating my suicide switch.

Application

Of course I'm not only a fictional hero, but a very real one. In two different prototypes, I could be used for diagnosis or treatment of pathogen-caused diseases. However, there is still a whole lot of regulational and economical questions that have to be answered before.

See you!

So now you know my short story - and it is time for me to return to my fight for a safer world. Feel free to take a closer look on my super powers, the process of my development or the plans for a medical application.

Team:LMU-Munich/Human Practice/iGEM School

From 2014.igem.org