Along with the competition, iGEM Headquarters maintains and runs the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, which houses a growing collection of genetic parts that can be mixed and matched to build synthetic biology devices and systems. During the competition, iGEM teams have access to parts, samples, data, and tools to work on their synthetic biology projects.

One of the expectations for participating iGEM teams is that they will submit any new biological parts they created to the Registry in order to help the Registry grow. Teams are also encouraged through the medal system to characterize their new parts along with existing parts from the Registry and submit that data to the Registry in order to help future teams use those parts. This expectation is a part of our "Get and Give" philosophy, where iGEM teams receive existing and contribute new biological parts to the Registry.

Given the amount of detailed information you need to provide on your Part pages, we strongly recommend that teams work on these Part pages often and early. Waiting until the end of the season can result in poorly documented pages and various mistakes.

Create New Registry Part Pages

Suggested start: August 4, 2017

This is a suggested deadline to encourage teams to look at the information we provide on part categories and making pages. It takes time and effort to make a well documented part page, so we recommend all teams use this deadline to at least make the pages so you can more easily edit and add documentation as the season comes to an end.

Registry Freeze

Deadline: November 1, 2017 11:59PM EDT

This deadline is the same as the Wiki Freeze deadline. This is important since the judges will begin assessing your team on November 2. All information you wish to be judged on for your Parts must be documented on your Registry Pages. We urge you to take this deadline seriously as this will impact your team's ability to win medals and Part Prizes.

How to start documenting your parts

As you make new Part pages, think carefully about the details you would need in order to fully understand and use the part in a project. All of the information needed to use the part successfully should be included on your Part page. Think back to a part you used from the Registry - were you able to easily use it? Or did it need some more information? You should aim to create new Part pages that allow future teams to use your part easily and successfully.

Here are some suggested questions to consider as you document your part(s):

Where did you obtain this DNA?
Did you encounter problems with obtaining and/or using the part?
What biosafety level laboratory can you use this part in?
Do you have recommendations for testing your part, such as strains or cells lines?
What experiment did you run to test your part and what controls did you use?

Part Categories

The Registry breaks down parts into two major categories: Basic Part and Composite Part. It's critical that you and your teammates understand the differences between these categories as the category denotes the type of Registry Part Page you will create.

We clearly define these two categories on the Add a Part page on the Registry. Everyone on your team should read through this page and email us at hq AT igem DOT org with any questions prior to making your page(s).

Creating New Part Pages

Once you have determined if you are creating a Basic Part or Composite Part page, you should read through our Guidelines for the Main Part page which will contain the majority of the information about your part.

For specific guidelines for a Basic Part page, please see our Add a Basic Part page. BBa_K863006 is an example of a well documented Basic Part.

For specific guidelines for a Composite Part page, please see our Add a Composite Part page. BBa_K1150020 is an example of a well documented Composite Part.

Competition/Deliverables/Part Pages