Overview
We do not view iGEM as a competition that focuses on scores, but rather as a way for all the teams to explore the unknown and make contributions together in the field of synthetic biology. Therefore, we did our best to provide practical advice and assistance to other teams. For the hardware part, we helped XJTLU-China build a device that detects ion concentration in water. For modeling, we gave initial guidance to UM-Macau.
In addition, we also received help from other teams. iBowu-China helped us to promote the market survey questionnaire
Further, we have associated with several teams focusing on intestinal issues and were responsible for building a discussion platform, which we planned to promote further in future competitions. We have been active in several large team exchange meetings and have met many like-minded partners.
We believe in the power of collaboration throughout our project.
Figure 1. Mind map for our collaboration.
Find Partners in Meetups
Initially, we didn't have a proper way to reach out to the teams we wanted to work with and couldn't get the basic information about other teams' projects. Several large China iGEM team meetups give us chances to find collaborations. We actively participated in these meetups to introduce our project to other teams and to learn about other teams' projects. At these meetups, we opened our eyes and got to contact other great teams.
Online meetup hosted by iBowu-China in June
In June, we participated in an online meetup hosted by ibowu, and although we were unable to communicate offline due to COVID-19, all teams prepared content and presented their projects to other teams. In this meetup, we met iBowu-China and some other excellent teams.
Figure 2. Online meetup in June.
Online meetup hosted by HBUT-China in July
After the June meetup, we were invited by HBUT-China to attend their July meetup, where we learned about the projects of HBUT-China, NJU-China, SZPT-China, and other teams. We also got in touch with XJTLU-CHINA and other teams.
Figure 3. Online meetup in July, we were doing the presentation.
Figure 4. Online meetup in July, participants took photos together.
Figure 5. Online meetup in July, main conference room.
Offline meetup hosted by iBowu (Beijing) in August
In August, the pandemic subsided and we were finally able to attend an offline Beijing iGEM team meetup. At this phase of the competition, all the teams already had a general framework for their projects and had some experience in the experiment. Therefore, we were able to communicate more aspects and gained more. In this meetup, we met the iGEM teams from Tsinghua University and Peking University, and they gave us a lot of suggestions for our experiments.
Figure 6. Offline meetup in August, we were doing the presentation.
Figure 7. Offline meetup in August, another member of our team doing the
presentation.
Figure 8. Offline meetup in August, the presentation from Peking University.
Figure 9. Offline meetup in August, photo of all teams.
Provide Assistance
Through these meetups, we have made friends with many teams. We also actively offer them help. We have helped other teams with peer reviews and given them valuable advice on their projects.
For example, we provided hardware help for XJTLU-China. They wanted to build a device to detect ion concentration in water. But no suitable sensor has been found yet. They were planning to use the method of detecting PH to measure the electric potential by the selective electrode. But there are difficulties in purchasing the sensor. Our team was familiar with this as we had to detect the concentration of caffeine in the sample for our project last year, and we also reviewed the relevant literature and materials. Therefore, we gave some suggestions to them, such as the electrode material to choose from, open-source electrochemical workstations on the web, etc.
Figure 10. Our assistance to XJTLU-China, give advice through the Internet.
At the request of the WS-HZBIOX team, we created a handout of modeling basics for them and recorded a corresponding explanatory video. The following picture shows the first page of the handout.
Figure 11. Our assistance to WS-HZBIOX, the handbook prepared.
In addition to this, we provided guidance on modeling for UM-Macau and helped teams such as HBUT-China review their projects. During all these discussions, we also gained a lot of inspiration which was very helpful for our project
Receive Help
We also received help from other teams.
Experiments
We once encountered difficulties in that plasmid with toxic protein genes are difficult to synthesize. NJMU-China suggested using overlap extension PCR. Besides, we chose E. coli more in our previous projects, but seldom conducted cultures of lactic acid bacteria. Tsinghua-China provided us with experience in this area.
In terms of human practice, iBowu-China used its public platform to send our questionnaire, which increased our sample size.
Figure 12. IBowu-China helped us promote the questionnaire via WeChat.
Build Communication Platform
We have maintained long-term communication and discussion with teams such as NZAU-China, NJMU-China, and NWU-China. The projects of the five teams this year all focused on human intestinal problems which means the projects are more related, and we can communicate more aspects and more in-depth.
Partnerships
To further improve the efficiency of communication between teams, inspired by the Piazza platform, we set up a special webpage for other teams. All teams can post questions on this page and also answer questions from other teams. The biggest advantage of the webpage is that these questions and answers are shared by all teams, making it easy for teams to learn from each other. See the partnership section for more details.
Acknowledgements
