Team:CPU CHINA/Plasticase
INTRODUCTION
White pollution is a globally recognized environmental problem. A large amount of discarded plastic has brought great harm to nature and society. As the summit international academic competition in the field of synthetic biology, iGEM encourages teams to solve real-world problems with innovative ideas, hoping that the teams will develop an open, cooperative and friendly competitive relationship. In the process of communicating with various teams, we found that many teams paid attention to the topic of how to solve white pollution. Therefore, CPU_CHINA has established an iGEM community dedicated in solving the problem of plastic pollution using approaches derived from synthetic biology. We invited iGEMers from different teams to join us and make our own contribution to build a better world.
We named this community Plasticase, which has two meanings:
First, Plasticase represents the "plastic case", which is a collection of all iGEM teams that are concerned about plastic pollution;
Second, -ase is the suffix of enzyme, which is the embodiment of using synthetic biology to change the world.
Fig. 1 Meanings of Plasticase
THE TIMELINE OF PLASTICASE
- 2021.4 Preliminary ideas about hosting Plasticase were put forward.
- 2021.5 Perfecting the idea, writing popularization articles of Plasticase for publishing on WeChat in order to spread information out
- 2021.6-8 Members were gradually assembled
- 2021.9 Round Table Club was successfully hosted.
Fig. 2 A popularization article of Plasticase posted on our Wechat Official Account
Fig. 3 Members of the Plasticase Confederation
Fig. 4 The Round Table Club is in progress.
PLASTICASE: ROUND TABLE CLUB
Ever since the establishment of Plasticase, we have received enthusiastic feedback and many teams have joined us. From May to September, members of Plasticase shared cutting-edge information, looked for potential partners, and put forward solutions regarding various problems. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Plasticase was unable to organize offline meetings. CPU_CHINA planned a virtual round table club to create a more free and accessible communication platform for members of Plasticase. Here, they can explore the possibility of deeper cooperation through mutual understanding, and work together to deal with current difficulties.
Fig. 5 A popularization article of Round Table Club during the preparatory stage
During the preparatory stage of the round table club, CPU_CHINA, as the organizer, contacted Dr. Huiming Xiang from Shanghai Environment Group Company Limited with the help of IvyMaker-China to introduce the migration and hazards of microplastics in the environment to us. At the same time, we also invited Prof. Meiling Lu and Prof. Meirong Chen from China Pharmaceutical University as guests to provide suggestions and guidance to all projects of the involving teams. After completing the preparation phase, we sent invitations to the Plasticase community and other teams by WeChat. Finally, a total of six teams including BJEA_China, CPU_CHINA, DUT_China, IvyMaker-China, KEYSTONE, SMS_Shenzhen and TJUSLS_China were applied for exhibition and BUCT-China for audit.
ROUND TABLE SCHEDULE
Time: 14:00 Beijing time on September 19, 2021
Venue: Tencent Conference
Meeting agenda:
| Proceedings | Speaker |
|---|---|
| The opening speech | CPU_CHINA |
| Speech on "Migration and Hazards of microplastics in the Environment" | Shanghai Environment Group Company Limited Dr. Huiming Xiang |
| Increasing Activity Of Enzyme To Biodegrade Plastics | BJEA_China |
| Construction of polyethylene degrading system based on CRISPR/dCas9 and SpyCatcher/SpyTag | CPU_CHINA |
| The Game-Changing Magic Yeast — Battle of PET trash and Magic Yeast with displayed PETase | IvyMaker-China |
| Rubber Eater — A synthetic biological approach towards rubber（cis-1,4-polyisoprene）degradation | KEYSTONE |
| Halftime | |
| GUM OVER | SMS_Shenzhen |
| PET-CRUSHER — Rational Engineering of PETase to Enhancing its Stability | TJUSLS_China |
| Intricate modular enzyme assembly for enhanced PET plastic degradation and metabolic flux | DUT_China |
| The ending speech | CPU_CHINA |
At 14:00 on September 19, the round table club was held on time. After the organizer's opening speech, Dr. Huiming Xiang popularized the sources, hazards and treatment methods of microplastics for the participates. His speech made us more aware of the great threat of white pollution to society and nature, and also strengthened the determination of various teams to find a solution to plastic pollution. Then, every team introduced their design in turn. The professors also put forward their own suggestions on experiment or human practices, which provided more possibilities for future development. After this meeting, the members of Plasticase became more connected and developed a deeper sense of belonging to Plasticase. The hosting date of the round table meeting coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, and the ancient blessing of "Wish us a long life to share the beauty of this graceful moonlight, even thousands miles apart" represents not only the expectations of family reunion, but also the good wishes of unity and mutual assistance among Plasticase members.
In the months since Plasticase was established, the lists that members have done:
Fig. 6 Activities of plasticase members
We hope that beyond the end of the iGEM in 2021, Plasticase can continue to be open and attract subsequent iGEM teams or professionals to be involved. In the future we envision, Plasticase will be able to engage companies, research institutions, investors, environmentalists, non-profit organizations and government departments dedicated to solving white pollution. Until then, it will not only be an iGEM community, but also a large plastic forum that integrates technological research and innovation resource sharing, public welfare activities organization, scientific and technological achievements transformation, business incubation and so on. Members can seek technical cooperation, explore commercial transformation of achievements, organize public welfare activities and develop environmental protection. The influence of Plasticase will spread from iGEM to the entire plastic degradation industry.