Team:USTC/HP/Silver
We aim PELICAN at increasing the efficiency of MES(micro-electric synthesis) by optimizing the functions of the microbe, and to ensure the effectiveness and practicability of our project, we
1.Visited local pharmaceutical company to present our project and learn more about their needs in biological synthesis and MES.
2.Referred to lots of previous work in biological cathode to find out current limits of microbes in MES and got inspiration from the work of Prof. Yang Peidong and other researchers.
3.Consulted Prof. Liu Haiyan and Vice Prof. Hong Jiong in project design and safety control.
4.Consulted Prof. Yu Hanqing’s team in current development and potentials in biological cathode and collaborated with his lab in functioning test of PELICAN.
5.Organized various activities for the public on Science Open day and in Hefei Science Museum, presented PELICAN and collected ideas and opinions from the citizens.
6.Actively communicated our projects and ideas with iGEMers all over the world in Asia-Pacific iGEM Conference and Central China iGEM Consortium;
Figure 1.Team USTC with our poster in CCiC
7.Designed and executed measures for handling Cadmium ion and possible production of hepatic gas to ensure safety and avoid negative impacts on the environment.
We deeply appreciate the assistance and kindness of all the researchers, staff, and the public mentioned above.
Visiting Local Pharmaceutical Company
We visited a large pharmaceutical company rooted in Hefei which has a complete pharmacy chain from research development, production to market. Their medication includes both chemicals and bio-antibodies. We presented our ideas and investigation, and learned a lot more about the needs of pharmacy.
It’s stressed that bio-pharmaceuticals are taking up greater percentage in medication, and according progress is desired by both the market and the public. Bio-medicine is generally more environmental-friendly, and is more specifically aimed for a disease. MES is still novel to industrial practice for the cost remains high with insufficient efficiency. It would be easier to seek funds and get things done if we focus on optimizing the production of some specific bio-drug with the project, or organizing a universal platform that enables various potential use.
Research Studies
We studied lots of previous works in BESs(Bio-electro-chemical systems) and MES to find out current limits in MES and experimental supports for the feasibility of PELICAN.
BESs have both biological advantages such as self-replication, and electrochemical advantages such as a mass-free supply of redox equivalents and the use of the cheapest redox equivalent-the electron [1]. In particular, MES is a promising technology as a cell factory for bio-commodities production because this can produce organic matters with microbial electro-catalysts [2].
In spite of many trials for understanding and improving non-microbial factors, the restricted intrinsic performance of wild microorganisms (e.g., lack of electron transfer channels, insufficient biofilm formation, and unsatisfactory production rate) still remains the main challenge for industry-level development of bio-commodities production. In order to overcome these limitations, it is necessary to understand electron transfer of microorganisms and explore novel genetic engineering approaches [3].
So we came up with a new solution by enriching ways of electron transfer channels with this novel genetically-engineered microorganism—PELICAN. Here we combined two systems together in E. coli to establish a double electron channels where electrons can either enter the cell through MTR system or more probably through CdS to MTR then into the cell. The latter is expected to considerably increase the efficiency of electron transfer with extra energy resources--light. In this way, we expect to push MES a step forward for industrial use by improving the restricted intrinsic performance of microorganisms we use.
Consulting Synthetic Biology Professors
We consulted Consulted Prof. Liu Haiyan and Vice Prof. Hong Jiong from Life Science Department of USTC in project design and safety control. Prof. Liu Haiyan’s team focuses on developing and applying computational tools for the study of structure, dynamics and interaction of biomolecules, and his group offered advice with our modelling to strength its assistance in designing experimental parameters and predicting results. We discussed which end-product to use as proof of concept with Vice Prof. Hong Jiong, who kindly provided us with needed plasmids and genes coding for NADH-dependent enzymes. Originally we chose an important drug intermediate that requires a substrate called COBE, which is toxic to human and other organisms and that we’re not very familiar with its dealing, so after careful consideration we decided on acetaldehyde for safety concerns.
Consultance and Collaboration with Experts in BES
We also consulted Prof. Yu Hanqing’s team from Department of Chemistry and Materials Science of USTC. One focus of Prof. Yu Hanqing’s team is exactly improving the efficiency of biological electrodes with Shewanella for reclamation of waste water. We discussed current development and potentials in biological cathode, and the group showed great interest in our work. The group kindly supported us with optimizing biofilm formation and collaborated with us in functioning test of PELICAN.
Science Open Weekend
“Science Open Weekend” has become a famous event in Anhui Province, drawing thousands of citizens from all over China. This year from May 20th to 21st, team USTC joined in the event with two activities. One in the Department hall where tourist are encouraged to take a quiz in synthetic biology and iGEM competition, questions are divided into 3 levels according to taker’s age. The other in a lab where our team leader gave a presentation on iGEM competition and our project, and visitors can also explore the microbial world through a microscope.
About 600 people took our quiz, mostly primary school and middle school students. Many lacked knowledge in synthetic biology but showed great interest in its applications in real life, especially genetically modified food. After our illustration, both kids and parents showed support in our work and wished us success in iGEM.
On September 24th, we went to the local science and technology museum to popularize our project and synthetic biology to the public. We illustrated generals of synthetic biology and MES (micro-electro synthesis), clarifying the promising potential applications. Since the genetically modified food has been one of the heated concerns in China, we left out a chapter to introduce the basics of it, rising many following questions and answering.
Figure 2.We are explaining the answers for quiz to the visitors
Figure 3.Our team leader is giving a presentation to the public
IGEM Conferences
This year has seen the third time Team USTC attending Asia-Pacific iGEM Conference held in National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. The 5th iGEM Asia-Pacific conference lasted 4 days from July 31th, 2016. More than 20 teams from Taiwan, mainland China, Japan and the United States got together to share our projects and culture. The conference included official presentations along with Q&A and a poster session, which not only serves as a drill for the coming jamboree, but also inspires us with new ideas and valuable advice we can make good use of. Professors there recognized the creativity of our idea. Taking an active part in the conference, we shared our ideas and studies in synthetic biology and made a great deal new friends with different backgrounds. Happily it brought us the collaboration with Shanghai Tech. We sincerely acknowledge NCTU for their warm services and we gained a lot through the conference.
We also participated in a great party hosted by Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University——Conference of China iGEMer community (also known as CCiC). During this conference, amazing presentations were performed to show out every team’s creative project. In addition, during the panel session, members from each team came up to the stage to share their memory in this iGEM competition, either the happiest one or the most sorrow one. Besides, we also share our experiences and obstacles we met during the last year.
Figure 4.Our member(on the right) is introducing our project
Safety
Impact on environment and safety is especially highlighted. We designed and executed measures for handling Cadmium ion and possible production of hepatic gas to ensure safety and avoid negative impacts on the environment. Please check in Safety for more detailed information. Last but not least, you can also Click here to download a handbook for safety education!
Reference:
[1] Krieg, T., Sydow, A., Schröder, U., Schrader, J., & Holtmann, D. (2014). Reactor concepts for bioelectrochemical syntheses and energy conversion. Trends in biotechnology, 32(12), 645-655.[2] Schröder, U., Harnisch, F., & Angenent, L. T. (2015). Microbial electrochemistry and technology: terminology and classification. Energy & Environmental Science, 8(2), 513-519.
[3] Shin, H. J., Jung, K. A., Nam, C. W., & Park, J. M. (2017). A Genetic Approach for Microbial Electrosynthesis System as Biocommodities Production Platform. Bioresource Technology.
