iGEM
Dear students,
Are you interested in synthetic biology (SynBio) and interdisciplinary work? Would you like to develop your own project and drive it towards success?
The international iGEM competition allows students to work in interdisciplinary teams on their own synthetic biology project. Imagination knows no limits here, and the project can be freely chosen. This makes the competition an excellent opportunity to learn new skills that are not typically taught in your studies. At the same time, the exchange with teams from all over the world provides numerous opportunities to establish international contacts.
For those interested in synthetic biology at the University of Bonn, we aim to create opportunities for participation in iGEM in the future. More information and reports from participants in 2019 and 2022 will soon be available in various information sessions.
If you are interested in joining the next iGEM team, please send an email to Boas Pucker (preferably from a University of Bonn email address).
We look forward to hearing from you!
Information events (zoom link available from Boas Pucker):
- Wed, 12th Feb at 8pm
- Tue, 18th Feb at 6pm
- Wed, 19th Feb at 6pm
Previous iGEM projects supervised
iGEM 2019 (Bielefeld CeBiTec)
"Remember the trojan horse? Employing this trick, Greeks snuck into Troy. Inspired by this story, we engineered Troygenics, molecular trojan horses that enter and transform eukaryotic cells. This approach simplifies difficult and often time consuming protocols commonly used for the transformation of eukaryotic cells. Our Troygenics are based on the M13 bacteriophage modified in a way that disables it from infecting its natural host E. coli, but enables it to enter target cells specifically, via endocytosis by fusing a target-specific ligand to the major coat protein pVIII. Additionally, we implemented a gene of interest in the Application Plasmid that is packed up into the Troygenics during assembly. For a possible application in fighting eukaryotic pathogens, we developed a Cell Death Inducing System (CeDIS) based on Cas13a that specifically attacks the targeted organism, but is harmless to any other cell nearby." Please find additional details in the CeBiTec-Bielefeld 2019 team's wiki.
iGEM 2023 (TU Braunschweig)
"With our project Li+onSwitch, we aim to develop a testing system that will enable patients with bipolar undergoing lithium therapy to independently monitor their lithium levels.The measurement of lithium holds significant importance for individuals with Bipolar, lithium administration is a therapeutic approach for this condition. Monitoring lithium levels in the blood is crucial, as therapeutic and cytotoxic lithium concentrations are closely intertwined, making accurate and reliable measurement challenging. Currently, regular blood tests conducted by doctors are the only means of monitoring lithium levels. We present a novel measurement method for lithium, utilizing a lithium-sensing riboswitch. Riboswitches are mRNA elements capable of sensing small molecules and regulating gene expression accordingly. We aims to exploit the unique properties of the nhaA riboswitches described by White et al. (2022) to enable the specific and sensitive measurement of lithium ions. The synthesis of the riboswitch is planned to be carried out in a cell-free system, ensuring precise control over the experimental conditions and simplifying the production process. To quantify lithium, the reporters LacZ/beta-Galactosidase, superfolder GFP, NanoLuc and mScarletI-3 are evaluated in conjunction with the riboswitches."Please find additional details in the TU Braunschweig 2023 team's wiki.