Team:Nottingham/Medals

Awards


and Medals


Did you hear about the guy who invented the door knocker?

He won a 'no-bell' prize.

Awards
and Medals

Bronze Medal

1. Registration and Giant Jamboree Attendance

  • Our iGEM 2019 team application was accepted by iGEM Headquarters on 2019-03-15.

2. Competition Deliverables

  • We have completed the following deliverables:
    1. Wiki: If you're reading this, that means you've already stumbled across our wiki. We're glad to have you! 😊
    2. Poster: Our poster will be shown at the Giant Jamboree in Boston.
    3. Presentation: Our presentation will be shown at the Giant Jamboree in Boston.
    4. Judging Form: Visit our Judging Form!

3. Attributions

4. Project Inspiration and Description

  • Working at a world-class research institute specialising in Clostridia research presented us with the opportunity to explore project ideas relating to anaerobic organisms and gas fermentation.
  • Discussion with our supervisors and research of the field led us to an understanding of the current testing and prevention methods for C. botulinum bacteria in food, along with the problems associated with these methods.
  • Our project aims to create Clostridium reporter strains that may be used to safely monitor the likelihood of C. botulinum's neurotoxin being produced in food.
  • For further information, have a look at our Project Description and Inspiration pages.

5. Characterization / Contribution

We characterized two existing parts (the promoters BBa_J23106 and Bba_K2715011) in a variety of ways. First, the expression of each promoter was quantified for the first time in a new chassis: Clostridium sporogenes. Secondly, they were compared to three new Clostridium promoters (Pntnh, PbotR and Pthl). Third, they were characterized both in E. coli and in C. sporogenes for the first time using a new reporter protein (FAST) which is compatible with anaerobic organisms. At last, all these characterisations were translated into the iGEM measurement Hub standard of Molecule Equivalent Fluorescein per particle (MEFL/particle) to contribute to the standardization efforts of the the iGEM community.

Silver Medal

1. Validated Part / Validated Contribution

Several of our new BioBrick Parts worked as expected. In particular: 


PLAC-botR

The PLAC-botR part (BBa_K2992027) was integrated in the genome of C. sporogenes; lactose induction was expected to activate botR transcription, and in turn, BotR expression was expected to activate reporter expression downstream of the BotR-activated Pntnh promoter.


FAST

A codon-optimised version of FAST (BBa_K2992000) was used as an alternative reporter, to validate our reporter circuit design. Upon binding to a suitable fluorogen, FAST generates a fluorescent signal that can be easily detected using a standard spectrophotometer.


Acetone pathways

Our acetone production pathways (BBa_K2992029 and BBa_K2992030) were able to produce acetone in C. sporogenes in the presence and absence of BotR, respectively.


botR and Pntnh

BotR (BBa_K2992002), the transcription factor which activates the promoters of the genes in the native botulinum neurotoxin cluster, was shown to be functional in C. sporogenes, and was capable of activating its cognate Pntnh (BBa_K2992001) promoter in a highly specific manner, for all three reporters considered. 


2. Collaboration

  • We collaborated with several other iGEM teams to form great symbiotic relationships!
    • University of Oxford: We made a number of C. difficile culture supernatant samples for them. They were able to use our samples as a positive control for their system.
    • Newcastle University: The Nottingham University iGEM team attended the UK iGEM meetup, hosted by Newcastly University. This meetup provided invaluable feedback on everything from our presentation design to how we could improve the way our project is communicated to the public.
    • University of Sheffield: With their project being engineering-based, we approached the University of Sheffield to ask for some advoce on the hardware side of our project - the electronic nose.
    • University of Manchester: The Manchester team provided us with a brilliant contact for a mechanical engineer who works on medical injectors helped us with the syringe part of our electronic nose.
    • Carroll High School: Carroll High school iGEM team provide a helpful booklet to teams unsure how to begin their Wiki! We wrote write out a ‘how to’ paragraph on the fundmentals of jQuery.

3. Human Practices

  • We made sure to get advice from the public, industry professionals and academics every step of the way!
  • We engaged with stakeholders who helped make our project more responsible beneficial good for the world.
  • We documented how we have investigated the issues with our project, the reasons for the questions and methods chosen, what we've learned and the impact of the project's success.
  • Have a look at our Human Practices page for all the details.

Gold Medal

1. Integrated Human Practices

  • We didn't feel that it was enough to simply listen to what the professionals had to say.
  • In fact, our confidence in our work led us to apply for the Integrated Human Practises prize! You can read more in the Special Prizes section below.
  • Visit our Integrated Human Practices page to see how we shaped our project around the excellent advice we were given.

2. Model Your Project

  • Our modellers built structural and dynamic models to inform the Wet Lab subgroup about various important elements of the project and vice versa.
  • We produced a substantial research paper containing a thorough description of the methods we employed, results we obtained and our reasons for pursuing our goals.
  • We have developed a structural and dynamic model of our mutant C. sporogenes
  • Click to learn more about our Modelling.

3. Demonstration of Your Work

We worked to proove that Notox worked by repressing our reporters with arginine, a known repressor of the botulinum neurotoxin. Furthermore, we tested our electronic nose against increasing concentrations of acetone, to show that the nose has the ability to detect acetone. To see the evidence that Notox works please click here for our Demonstrate page.

Special Prizes

Integrated Human Practices


We recognise the importance of human practices and have made a sustained effort to integrate the suggestions of industry professionals and academics into our project. Our visit to the Pro-Pak Foods factory expanded our understanding of industry-standard methods used in food-safety testing, confirming that there is a market for our product.


As a result of speaking to many industry professionals, we have created a food-safety technology with the potential for significantly reduced time-cost, monetary-cost and reliance on animal testing. At present, the industry standard of ‘challenge testing’ is prohibitively expensive for smaller companies and businesses. Conversely, our methods will be more accessible to the industry as a whole, ensuring food safety for the general public across a broader range of food products.


Have a look at our Human Practices page for all the details.


Education and Public Engagement


With the support of local organisations and schools, we disseminated iGEM’s message: “the advancement of synthetic biology education”, to a potential audience of several thousands. Our aim was to capture the imaginations of young people and inspire them to study bioscience – especially synthetic biology. We attended several community events and created a board game: ‘Build Your Own Bacterium’, for use in classrooms.


Also, conscious of negative connotations commonly associated with genetic engineering and synthetic biology amongst the general public, we aimed to allay fears by providing the local community with well-researched, well-evidenced information. We achieved this through features in multiple local newspapers and on our local BBC radio station: BBC Radio Nottingham. Finally, to engage individuals with a serious or professional interest in Biology we wrote a longer, more detailed article, which was accepted for publication in the prestigious magazine: ‘The Biologist’, distributed by the Royal Society of Biology.


Follow our public engagement events on the Outreach page.


Hardware


Our team has designed and produced an automated, battery-powered, handheld electronic nose – a unique composition that is not available to buy commercially. Our device is designed to detect acetone produced by our engineered Clostridium sporogenes reporter strain. Furthermore, its flexible design offers a multi-purpose use in detecting a range of different ketones.


These include an electronic sensor and an automated syringe mechanism, as well as a self-designed case. Additionally, we have programmed a user-friendly interface for our detection system, consisting of an LCD and LEDs; this maintains the low level of skill required to operate the nose. We believe our unique piece of equipment will enable a safer and more efficient method for detection of the Clostridium botulinum toxin


Follow our electronic-nose related exploits on the Hardware page.


Best New Basic Part


FAST (BBa_K2992000) is a short reporter protein that is especially useful in anaerobe organsisms, in which GFP is inhibited. Its small size allows it to be part of proein fusions, and it’s mode of action allows for visualisation of intracellular structures. It is easier to use than the gusA reporter normally used in anaerobes. For all these reasons, we hope this part will help many more teams to start projects in anaerobic organisms!


Best New Composite Part


We developed an acetone production operon (BBa_K2992036) that is induced by the BotR transcription factor. The system can be used in a safe strain as a reporter for unsafe food conservation practice, as BotR is the transcription factor which activates production of the botulinum neurotoxin. It can be used as a safe surrogate for Botulinum neurotoxin detection in a safe strain.