Overview

As an old saying goes, “Unity is strength.” A good partner is indispensable in the long-term struggle process, especially during the iGEM competition. Therefore, during the competition, we had a partnership with NYCU_Formosa and worked together for eight months. We have collaborated on experiments, Model, Human Practice, etc. All of the cooperations are close and necessary partnership to improve each other's projects.

Timeline

• Ｍarch | 1st Online meetup - Exchange project ideas
• April - May | Lab Meeting - Experimental idea update & Model techniques sharing
• June | ARS Conference - Participate in the full English report together
• July | Podcast Recording - Invite NYCU_Formosa to record Synbio podcast with us & Questionnaire Survey
• August | Taiwan Conference - Participate in the first physical report simulation together
• September - October | Experimental Verification - Antimicrobial effect functional tests
• September - October | BioArt_TheThirdSpace - BioArtist lecture & Online exhibition

Ｍarch | 1st Online meetup

Exchange Project Ideas

In March this year, we started contacting some iGEM teams and exchanging our idea with one another. Then, NYCU_Formosa was one of the teams we contacted. Through the online meeting, we learned that their project is highly similar to ours. NYCU_Formosa found a new biomaterial called Ubx and it could bind to another functional peptide, which is one of AMP LL37 in our project.

Besides, last year's NYCU_Formosa team has a lot of experience with AMP, so we exchanged and discussed a lot of information about the properties and antimicrobial effects of AMP. Both of us got a lot of inspiration.

In order to inherit our passion for synthetic biology, we decided to establish a partnership to help and grow with each other in future competitions.

April - May | Lab Meeting

Experimental Idea Update & Model Techniques Sharing

After the meeting in March, we are more familiar with each other and the project. We also had an in-person meeting in April. In that meeting, we shared some experimental methods as well as recommended the plasmid we use.

Furthermore, NYCU_Formosa mentioned that they wanted to make a light‑cured 3D printing to applicate their protein by connecting the protein Ubx, and our wet lab member, who majors in the material science department, has a lot of relevant experience and provided many suggestions to NYCU_Formosa. Moreover, we mentioned that we are a pleasure to take the SEM image for NYCU_Formosa, hoping that can make their experiments more complete and credible.

NYCU_Formosa and our team shared many opinions with each other, and also had cross-group communication. At the time, a lot of useful information provided more ideas to let two team projects be better!

June | ARS Conference

Rehearsal and Participate in the full English report together

International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition is an international competition. Since we communicate with iGEM teams in Taiwan more frequently, we didn’t have much chance to contact international teams. Out of curiosity, we and NYCU_Formosa decided to participate in the ARS 2022 conference on June 26th (The 13th AFOB Regional Symposium, 2022).

Days before the conference, we reported the topic and answered the questions from advisers and teachers, helping the other iGEM teams to clarify the details that they did not notice, and giving each other suggestions for their presentation.

We are very grateful to NYCU_Formosa for rehearsing with us before the ARS 2022 conference, which made our presentations smoother a lot and the QA session much handier.

July | Podcast & Questionnaire Survey

Invite NYCU_Formosa to record Synbio podcast with us

Our team invited NYCU_Formosa to record the podcast channel we founded-NTHU synbio. NYCU_Formosa told the story about how they came up with their ideas and turn them into a reality iGEM project, and we also try to bring the audience to synthetic biology applications about NYCU_Formosa’s project. In the end, we gave them a platform to promote their BioArtist public in September.

Questionnaire Survey Promote

Since we wanted to investigate the public's awareness of the crisis of Staphylococcus aureus and the acceptance of microneedle, NYCU_Formosa immediately agreed to use their social influence to promote our questionnaire and successfully helped us collect many questionnaire samples.

Auguest | Taiwan iGEM Meet

Rehearsal and Participate in the first physical report simulation together

After the experience at the ARS conference in June, NYCU_Formosa and our team decided to participate in the two-days Taiwan iGEM together again. Before the Taiwan iGEM Meet, we practice a full English presentation and answered questions from each other. Through each other's advice, we both clarified the details that we did not notice and giving each other suggestions for the presentation.

Sep. - Oct. | Exp. Verification & BioArt

Bacteriostatic effect functional tests

In September, we usually discussed the protocol, experimental problems, and model to help each other overcome the difficulties. We want to verify the bacteriostatic of the AMPC effect. Therefore, we went to NYCU_Formosa laboratory to conduct a functional test by other methods that differ from ours. However, the result is not ideal, but this result still allows us to improve.

At that time, NYCU_Formosa suggested that we can increase the concentration and increase the V8 protease in the future. For the NYCU_Formosa, they came to our laboratory and cooperated to configure different concentrations of Ubx reactions to confirm that Ubx can form cross-links, and found the reaction results like jelly glue.

In this partnership, we had many meetings with NYCU_Formosa to discuss experiments and functional tests. Besides, we conduct experiments in each other's laboratory, and cooperative experiments fasten the progress in each other's experiments.

For example, we will use this antibacterial result as a reference, and functional tests will use concentrated protein and an environment suitable for the action of V8 protease. Validation of V8 protease activity on AMPC. As well as, we help NYCU_Formosa to find a suitable concentration ratio for the Ubx reaction, it can be confirmed that Ubx can form cross-linking. We are so happy that NYCU_Formosa is our partner!

BioArt_TheThirdSpace - BioArtist lecture &

NYCU_Formosa propose the BioArt project this year, as their partner for the past few months, we are willing to do them a fever. Therefore, we invited the students from NTHU BioArtLab in our university to give a brief introduction to BioArt and its definition, and present their outstanding artwork-Across The Street, providing more information about access to join the BioArt field for the public.

Online exhibition

We participated in the online BioArt exhibition held by NYCU_Formosa to boost science communication together.

【Micro Eiffel Tower】

The beautiful Eiffel tower you can see in the artwork is a microneedle, the main character of our project. We used the photographic method to present our microneedle BioArt, making it like an Eiffel tower for combining our project and this year’s iGEM. The dressing with the micron-level needles tip structure can improve the penetration of drugs into the skin. Moreover, the user can feel painless when they use this dressing. The microneedle system we constructed, by adding AMP (small peptides that have the antibacterial ability and their mechanisms reduce the possibility of bacterial drug resistance) as a drug and HAMA coated on microneedle surface, provides a platform for targeting diseases caused by S. aureus, proposing the system for future iGEM teams to manufacture drug delivery strategies for curing other diseases. The iGEM synthetic biology competition is held in different cities every year, and we belive that all of the competition sites have their unique memorable significance for the iGEMers. Thus, we create the BioArt work to establish a special impression for this year's iGEM in Paris.