Team:SZTA Szeged HU/Collaborations

Collaboration

Inter-team collaboration is one of many exciting things about the iGEM community. The iGEM competition stresses the importance of collaborations between scientists and encourages teams to significantly collaborate with one or more iGEM teams. Collaboration is an important component of scientific research, as it teaches will-be scientists to exchange ideas and assist others in their innovations. Throughout our project, we have collaborated with many different iGEM teams around the world. With this in mind, we would like to thank all the iGEM teams who have collaborated and shared ideas with us.

Team HK_SSC

Project Summary

In their project they are dealing with the same environmental problem we were working on called algal blooming which is caused partially by common cyanobacteria called Microcystis aeruginosa which produces a toxin called microcystin. Their objective is to silence the microcystin biosynthesis cluster(mcy) using a catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) enzyme lacking endonuclease activity. When the dCas9 enzyme is co-expressed with a guide RNA(sgRNA), the dCas9-sgRNA complex specifically binds to the McyB gene and blocks transcript elongation, leading to the repression of the McyB gene without altering the chromosome of the Microcystis. Here they provide the design of a dCas9-sgRNA expression gene in a shuttle vector that can replicate in both E.coli and cyanobacteria. they are also conducting downstream analysis to see how our dCas9-sgRNA expression plasmid affects the microcystin-production rate and oxygen synthesis rate of Microcystis.

Collaboration

After our team read Team HK_SSC’s project objective we found a great potential in collaborating with them due to similar objectives. As a result, we decided to contact them whether they would be also interested in collaborating with us. After expressing their enthusiasm and excitement to do so, we decided to send our project abstract first. Then we planned an appropriate appointment where we would discuss our projects in-depth and potential collaboration ideas by using the zoom app. In the end, our team sent the needed information for Team HK_SSC to construct our plasmid which they would transform to their engineered E.coli to see whether any differences are indicated in microcystin concentration (This is still under development). Furthermore, our team had a survey which was developed for statistics purposes. As a result, we found it would be beneficial if we would send our survey to them which they agreed with and then spread it to nearby institutions who work in our project’s matter so we would both have not only national but also international results.

Team Cornell

Project Summary

In their project they are dealing with the same environmental problem we were working on called algal blooming. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) create microcystin(s), toxic chemicals that are long-lasting and contaminate drinking and irrigation systems. Their objective is to build a system which has two parts: a biological sensor to detect the presence of microcystin(s) and a filter for environmental remediation. Their sensor consists of an RNA aptamer conjugated to gold particles, which specifically binds their target microcystin-LR and produces a colorimetric change. Their filter is comprised of a specific cassette of enzymes endogenous to Sphingopyxis sp. It consists of a packed-bed-reactor, where they pass water through a chamber containing their engineered strain immobilized on alginate beads. By putting this system on a device that can traverse the span of lake or river, they hope this will stand as a major improvement in the detection and treatment of HABs.

Collaboration

After our team read Team Cornell’s project objective, we found a great potential in collaborating with them due to similar interests. As a result, we decided to contact them whether they would be also interested in collaborating with us. After expressing their enthusiasm and excitement to do so, we decided to send our project abstract first. Then we planned an appropriate appointment where we would discuss our projects in-depth and potential collaboration ideas by using the zoom app. In the end, Team Cornell mentioned they would be more than happy in helping us with the modeling of our detection/measurement design system. We are recently still working on this to happen by keeping Team Cornell informed about our team’s project status. Furthermore, due to both teams having a survey. We decided to exchange them and then distribute these surveys to local experts and community members. As a result, we found it would be beneficial if we would send our survey to each other and then spread it to nearby institutions who work in our project’s matter so we would both have not only national but also international results.

Team Shanghai_HS

Project Summary

In their project they are dealing with the same environmental problem we were working on called algal blooming which is caused partially by common cyanobacteria called Microcystis aeruginosa which produces a toxin called microcystin. Based on their research, they have found an enzyme called mlrA that could degrade microcystin-LR effectively by hydrolytic cleavage and linearization of cyclic structure of MCLR. They are engineering E. coli to express their target protein, mlrA. Then, using HPLC, they would like to test the effectiveness of mlrA to cleave microcystin. By using mlrA to break down microcystin, they aim to further immobilize the enzyme and to design a device that can be used during the process of water treatment to purify lake water. Their project aim is to invent a device for water treatment plant to break down microcystin in drinking water. This would provide an effective way for removing microcystin and improve the safety of drinking water.

Collaboration

After our team read Team Shanghai_HS’s project objective, we found a great potential in collaborating with them due to similar interests. As a result, we decided to contact them whether they would be also interested in collaborating with us. After expressing their enthusiasm and excitement to do so through group chats, we discussed our projects and iGEM requirements in- depth.