Team:Peking/TeamCom

Goals

Since firstly taking part in iGEM in 2007, Peking iGEM has the tradition of communicating with other teams in China. This activity strengthens Peking iGEM Team’s understanding of synthetic biology as well as this competition, deepens the friendship with other teams, widens the views towards the advanced fields of modern biology.

During this summer, Peking iGEM 2014 kept this tradition for the following purposes:

a. Communicating experiments and modeling with other teams.

b. Investigating how synthetic biology as well as iGEM Competition spread in China.

c. Spreading the knowledge of algal bloom and promoting our project.

Team visit

In late August, Peking iGEM 2014 visited several universities in China and participated in the First Central China iGEMers’ Meet Up (Fig. 1). And some universities went to us with their ideas and questions. During this trip, we visited SJTU, ZJU-China, and USTC. To these teams, we introduced our project “Ranger amongst Enemies”, especially the modeling part.

Zhejiang University

On August 19^th, we arrived at ZJU-China (Zhejiang University) and discussed the biosafety problem and the possibilities of cooperation (Fig. 2).

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Next day, our team leaved for SJTU (Shanghai Jiao Tong University) in Shanghai. During this visit, the undergraduates and instructors from Bio-X Center, just like our iGEM Club, introduced their project and iGEM Club. We made the consensus that it is probably better treating biology subject as a whole rather than dividing it into many isolated topics. In return, a member from SJTU also joined our group discussion afterwards (Fig. 3).

University of Science and Technology of China

USTC (University of Science and Technology of China) was the next school we visited (Fig. 4). On August 21^st, we arrived at USTC in Hefei, Anhui Province. USTC Software provided us with their experiences of building biology software. And the possibility of establishing Peking Software iGEM Team was also discussed.

The First Central China iGEMers’ Meet Up

Later, we participated in the First Central China iGEMers’ Meet Up in Wuhan with other ten teams. ZHANG Haoqian, a former iGEMer of Peking iGEM, also showed up as a speaker and made a lecture. On this meet up, iGEMers summarized developing procedure of Chinese iGEM teams. More than the presentations of each team’s project, the future of synthetic biology in China was discussed actively.

Mutual facilitation

Zhejiang University

ZJU-China was doing experiments on E.coli genome, so they were seeking for an effective plan to prevent the leakage of modified genes. And they helped us test the stability of our suicide genes by transferring them into E.coli genome. In return, we tested cell fluorescence behavior for them.

Beijing Institute of Technology

We provided BIT (Beijing Institute of Technology) some experiment equipment as assistance for their projects.

Beijing Normal University

Beijing Normal University firstly joined in iGEM competition, and they made a visit to us in late September. We held a discussion about killing improvements and modeling, catching much attention. Transmembrane protein INP was used as the scaffold of surface display system in two teams’ experiments. We compared displaying efficiency between INP and two of its variants, INPN and INPC. Peking iGEM 2014 helped them standardize a BioBrick BBa_K1405002. As for microbes motility was another shared point in our projects, how to establish a proper model became the same concern. WANG Chenggong introduced Peking’s models detailedly, including the insight, the methods, and analysis results. iGEMers from BNU-China offered us many decent suggestions. Later, they discussed Beijing Normal University’s project and WANG Chenggong gave some suggestions on constructing a dynamic model of E.coli and peanut root system, which can quantitatively simulate the process of engineered organism movement.(Fig. 5 & 6)

Ocean University of China

Peking iGEM and OUC-China had pleasant communication experience in the past years. This time, we both chose holin/endolysin lysis system to construct an inducible suicide switch and we discussed experiment protocols and results for weeks. Besides, Peking iGEM provided these two genes with their primers for OUC-China due to the difference between the genes we used. Also, OUC-China sent their gas vesicle plasmids to us and did a confirming test.

In short, team communication is an indispensable part of human practice. Tens of Meet Ups were held before the Giant Jamboree around the world. By communicating, teams exchange their ideas and discuss problems.

This year, some first-year iGEM teams received Peking’s assistance, including advice on modeling, experiments equipment supply and BioBrick (BBa_K1405002) standardization.

It is the 7^th year since Chinese teams joined in iGEM competition for the first time and more and more universities even some high schools have established their iGEM teams. Synthetic biology as a novel tool has been improving our life and many ideas from iGEMers came into application. And it is undeniable that team communication did a lot for this. Chinese iGEM teams have been working together to promoting the development of synthetic biology and iGEM Competition. Education based on research impelled passion from young undergraduates, and some of them would surely become specialists in some areas. Peking iGEM believes that team communication is a key to promote synthetic biology development.