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Team introduction

InCell is the name of the 2017 iGEM team of the University of Copenhagen. InCell is a strong international and interdisciplinary team with expertises ranging from Molecular Biomedicine to Communication and IT, including Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Food Science & Technology. Inspired by the fermenting research field surrounding interspecies and interdomain interactions, our team has decided to pursue a new approach to the study of endosymbiosis and its mechanisms with regards to its history and future applications.

Project Description

The objective of InCell is to investigate basic aspects of endosymbiosis in order to establish the principles for the future use of artificial endosymbiosis in synthetic biology. Developing the framework for the modular assembly of orthogonal synthetic organelles can have profound applications in different fields, including medicine and agriculture.

We envision that artificial endosymbiosis could be applied in a broad range of fields, including agriculture, medicine and production of valuable compounds. A deeper understanding of the relationships intertwining endosymbionts and their hosts could, for example, unravel new knowledge applicable for the treatment of mitochondrial diseases or develop humanized antibodies, while a living compartment able to fix nitrogen from air could decrease the use of fertilizers in agricultural production.