Team:Shanghai United HS/Collaborations
Collaboration
In order to better develop our project and learn from other teams, we worked with
multiple high school iGEM teams. We had worked with each other and held online meetings on Class In and
Google, and the main issue that we're talking about is how we make and preserve the microbiome and how to
use it for the benefit of the world and the caries population.
iBowu-China2021
We had an in-depth discussion and collaboration with
iBowu-China2021, a team from Beijing, China. Their topic is about Glycyrrhizin (GL), which has up to 5%
content in glycyrrhizin, was catalyzed by β -glucuronase (βG) to produce more efficient GA. βG can be
expressed by the GusA gene in E. coli. They hoped to achieve high yield through the following two aspects:
1) improving βG yield by regulating GusA expression by changing promoter strength; 2) changing fermentation
conditions and attempting to solidify enzymes to improve glycyrrhetinic acid yield.
We participated in a large collaborative project organized
by them by sharing and establishing an online communication support group. iGEM team from all over the world
participated in this graffiti book project named Biodoodle. Through different forms pf laboratory record,
interviews, and drawing to show our team perfectly, we will combine each team's project into a biological
picture book, so that the audience will understand the problem that we want to solve, and the original
intention of our project that we want to spread.
During the communication between the dry team members, they
suggested that we could use documentaries to promote our project. Furthermore, we suggested that they could
blend their biological subjects with the traditional culture to have a bigger market later.
During the communication between the two wet teams, we
communicated about the laboratory process's technical differences and made suggestions for each other. We
provided them with a very useful method of ligating GFP, enzyme ligating and showed them the process in
detail. They suggested that we could do a control experiment, comparing our current engineered bacteria with
bacteria that had removed the arabinose inducible premise.
VIPatent (Shanghai_Metro)
We had in-depth communication and cooperation with a team, VIPatent, composed of
high school students from China. In order to better communicate and complement our subjects, we talked about
the technical differences between our two teams. Recognizing that their task is to protect the microbiome,
we realize that our task, which is creating the microbiome, is inextricably linked to them. Their team added
a mold to protect the microbiome，which can help us perfect the step of preserving the microbiome when
applying for patents. In addition, as the first case that they preserve the microbiome, our team can provide
great feedback and help them continue deeply. Then we will publicize with them together. We set up an online
studio to support our two teams work together in-depth by sharing the task and problems.s
Beer Jet (Beijing_United)
We also collaborated with another team, Beer Jet,a group of high school students
from China. The team aims to genetically engineer yeast so that it is cheaper to produce alcohol. Our team
engineers the E. coli genome to produce a lytic enzyme generated by phages to prevent tooth decay.
By working with each other, we found difficulties, and we solved them together.
Firstly, through communication, one of the difficulties for our two teams is how to preserve the
microbiomes. The microbiome that they should maintain is saccharomycetes, and our team should preserve
Escherichia coli. To solve this problem, we set up an online discussion studio to facilitate further
discussion and research later. Secondly, we found the best PCR method for both teams to transform genes, and
we have been improving and innovating the PCR method in combination with our subject.
We had provided each other with some helpful advice. Our team provided their team
with some inspirations and ideas for the business plan, including how to finance and divide the work within
the group. In addition, they provided us with solutions for the long-term preservation of the microbiome,
such as making bacterias.
Alpha-luco (Fujian_United)
We had a collaboration with a team,alpha-luco, which is composed of Chinese high
school students. Their team's project is developing a new type of automatic-producing enzyme that can
accelerate producing ethanol, thus improving efficiency. Through mutual communication, we mainly discussed
three issues.
The first issue is how to conceive the business plan.
Secondly, we talked about how to publicize our teams and our peripheral products. Their team suggested that
we could volunteer to teach our biology subject to students in remote areas to popularize their
understanding of our biology subject. Our team said they could shoot some videos to popularize biology
knowledge and promote the company. In addition, through a long period of communication, we came to a
practical method that we could do to help each other, which is to find out more about each other's Wiki. In
this way, we can look at each other's projects from the perspective of a third party and determine whether
each other's projects can be clearly written and explained to others in the wiki.
HOV (Shanghai_Metro_Utd)
We had a collaboration with another group named HOV. They are a team composed of
Chinese high school students. Their project is to add angiopoietin into drugs to prevent some brain
diseases. After an in-depth conversation, we found that we had the same idea in writing the business model
of the business plan, and we discussed how to finance together. We suggested that they apply theories in the
lab practically to their business model. They suggested that we do more social research, including big data
analysis of the pattern people use their potential products, such as toothpaste and chewing.
Pec Teast (Xiamen_City)
We had a collaboration with Pec Teast, a group from China.The project of their team
is committed to using CRISPR technology to transfer the gene fragment with the function of "degrading
pectin" in pectinase to the yeast used for fruit wine fermentation, so that the yeast can not only ferment
alcohol, but also degrade pectin, so this project can help wine industry save the cost of making fruit wine.
After discussion between us, we learned that their peripheral products combine the
cultural tradition of Chinese Valentine's day and they have sold flowers on Valentine's day, which makes us
have a new thought about our team's peripheral products -----we can combine our subject with a certain
culture and then produce new peripheral products. After establishing online cooperation and exchange
platform, they introduced their online recording and broadcasting course project. They will make an
understandable video about their project, and they will provide them to children aged 7-12 through some
websites or platforms. Their team also suggested recording some simple popular science videos, as they are
public benefit activities. In addition, we provided them with suggestions on how to improve team efficiency
and write wiki. We also provided them with specific methods to find data, such as looking for data by
consulting company reports.
PEToracity (WFLA_YK_PAO)
We worked with another wonderful and exciting team,PEToracity. Their team expressed
PET-degrading enzymes in the cells of engineered probiotics to degrade the amount of plastic in the human
body, thus improving human health. By getting to know each other, we know that their technology could be
used to make products in drinks. We plan that our technology will also be applied to drinks in the future,
so we collaborate about the design for beverage products, including the status, prospects, shortcomings, and
current competitive products of the beverage industry. By establishing an online communication platform, we
had a deeper communication and dialogue in the later stage. Their team suggested that we could use
relatively novel publicity methods. For example, their team made an interactive popular science game on a
large platform. In addition, they also suggested that we can make more types of peripheral products, and
integrate our team's logo and project concept into peripheral products to achieve better publicity. We
recommend that their team can refine the sections of their business plan. For example, they can join
sections such as industry vision, industry pain points, and product benefits.
Ulink-SIP
We have collaborated with another team from Jiangsu, China，which is named
Ulink-SIP. Their project is to produce a kind of sugar to add into milk powder. Therefore, we realized that
a large part of our audience and market are infants, so we conducted a big data market survey together and
made a report on the direction of the infant market. They suggested that we should check the current
national and international restrictions on the genetic modification of our project. We suggest that in
addition to offline project publicity, they can also carry out online project publicity in different forms.
Their promotion methods include on-campus lectures and communication with nearby food factories and
university laboratories. Through cooperation and negotiation, they will promote our team’s project as
well,which is quite beneficial to us .Finally, they have taken part in many of our publicity projects, for
example, our book project .They also joined the East Asia Forum Summit organized by South Korea team. Our
two teams will have more cooperation projects in the future together.
ASeeker (Shanghai_United)
We collaborated with iGEM team Shanghai_United on July 21. We helped them with the
future possible applications, including creating an actual product, selling the technology to companies, or
cooperating with suppliers, the details of expectations for financial supports. Also, we told them how to
find target customers. They suggested us survey and collect the data about whether we will accept this new
possible product for children’s parents because our users are children who are too young. Finally, they
helped us write a business plan with several parts, including company description, marketing plan, and
future applications.