Difference between revisions of "Team:Munich/Collaborations"

One of the skype sessions with TU Delft

Also, team Delft sent us the Tardigrade intrinsically Disordered Proteins(TDPs) to experiment them with our Cas13a and to check the activity and stability of the Cas13a when used together with TDPs. From our team, Dawa did the characterization of the TDPs that were sent by the team TU Delft. Both our teams are using Cas13a but from different strains. Our team mostly used Leptrotricia buccalis and Leptrotricia wadei Cas13a for our experiments. We did also tried the Leptrotricia shahi but we couldn't purify it that well for our experiments. Team TU Delft were using the Leptroticia shahi Cas13a for their experiments.

During the characterization of the TDPs, Team TU Delft found that whenever their Cas13a was dried in combination with a TDP of the type CAHS, the resuspended Cas13a would start cleaving RNA even in absence of the target RNA, hence losing its specificity. We therefore did the characterization of the TDPs they provided with our Cas13a (Lbu) and repeated the exact same drying experiment with the CAHS protein, in order to corroborate our results and to find the cause of such an unexpected result. As observed in figure 1 below, we also got the same unexpected results when Cas13a was tried with CAHS TDP.

iGEM BOKU Vienna

Michael and Julian from the iGEM BOKU Vienna came to do some experiments in our lab on 4th and 5th of October. Their iGEM project is called D.I.V.E.R.T. (Directed in vivo evolution via reverse transcription) and they are trying out new strategies for in vivo evolution which shows potential advantages over classical in vitro methods. For this they use yeast and E.coli to demonstrate their concept. They used the flow cytometer in our lab in Garching to better characterize their constructs from E.coli and S. cerevisiae. For the use one of our lab member explained them how to use the flow cytometer in the lab and also provided them the necessary help. It was a long day work for them but they got convincing results by the end. We also had a small gathering in the evening before they left together with the old igemers who came to meet us. We were very happy to have them in our lab and to get to know each other's team.

iGEM Bristol

Team Bristol have a project called BREATHE, in which they modify E.coli cells to metabolise NOx compounds from the atmosphere into ammonia. With help from a bioreactor, the ammonia can be oxidized to molecular nitrogen, producing electricity. This way, BREATHE not only reduces air pollution, but provides energy, too. As a side project, team Bristol developed the iGEM Development Environment (IDE) to help other teams edit their wiki faster and efficiently. When we found out about this tool, we wanted to try it out and reached team Bristol, who happily explained us how to use it. The IDE helped us speed up our wiki editing, specially in the initial steps, and make working on the wiki all around more convienient and easy. In turn, we provided them feedback about the software, so they can further develop this useful tool for future iGEM teams.

iGEM Berlin diagnostX

Their iGEM project is called Wormspotter, where they want to use toehold switch to diagnose tape worm infections. Tape worm infections are very common in many countries in Asia and Africa, and the team Berlin wants to help make the detection of such infections rapid and affordable. We have some similarities in the project regarding the use of RNA and paper strips. They are also working a lot on RNA extraction and on amplification of the RNA product. They also want to have a visible readout on the paper to detect the presence of tapeworm RNA as we do. Therefore we decided to help each other by addressing each otherÕs problems and by helping to solve them. We helped each other by discussing our problems and providing tips to solve them. We did Skype meeting sessions and exchanged emails to keep each other updated. We also talked on how the challenges of RNA amplification could be optimized and how we can make good use of each otherÕs detection system.