The iGEM team USTC comes from the University of Science and Technology of China. Since we discussed their projects on modelling during the 5th conference of the China iGEMer Community (CCIC), we kept long-term communication on this topic. Our team provided them with some advice of the simulation of biological processes and we also learned much in the discussion.
We met team SCU_China at the 5th Conference of China iGEMer Community (CCiC) and were attracted by their project. We found their project were similar to one of our previous design in brainstormming. Thus, we discussed about their design and gave several pieces of advice based on papers about Cas9. What’s more, we shared our model and design with them as a reminder of the potential problems they might meet in our concern.
We provided TeamA from DLUT_China with pSB1C3 plasmid for biopart construction.
We instructedBNDS_CHINA : in experiment and modeling. We taught them the basic experimental skills. We also helped them when they had problem in molecular cloning.
We discussed with them their projects during the joint conference they held in NKU_CHINA. We provided them with many valuable suggestions in modelling during the 5th Conference of the China iGEMer Community (CCiC). We kept a long-term communication with them since then and we both benefitted a lot.
We provided NAU_CHINA with a plasmid.
We offered SpheroTech Rainbow calibration beads (type RCP-30-5A) for interlab flow cytometry test use to FUDAN-CHINA team in July. We also shared experiences about experiments and human practice issues at NKU_CHINA’s iGEM meeting on July 6th, at Fudan-CHINA lab on July 23rd, and at 5th CCiC during August 27th to 31st .
We offered E.coli cell line for fast cloning use and shared experiences about molecular cloning with Tsinghua team. We also met at Peking’s iGEM meeting on August 12th and 5th CCiC.
In our simulation of metabolism with and without phase separation, we inevitably need the kinetic parameters of enzymes used in our pathway to produce β-carotene. Only if we have relatively accurate enzyme kinetic data, can we make tenable predictions based on our models. On hearing Tongji-Software’s software on finding the most efficient pathway of production together with the pertinent kinetic parameters, we proposed to collaborate with them. Their software sufficed our need and we provided them with another plausible application.
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We offered a suitable plate reader to help BJRS_China and BNU_CHINA with their interlab study about fluorescence and absorbance measurement.
We met team BIT-China in the symposium we held. We kept communication with them since about both our projects since then. What's more we helped BIT-China test the expression of their fluorescent protein with flow cytometer.
On July 6th, we gladly accepted the invitation from NKU_CHINA and took part in the summit meeting of International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition hosted by NKU_CHINA in Tianjin with eight other universities.
While it was just the beginning of summer vacation and most teams did not have many experimental results yet, we exchanged our ideas about the total design, modelling and human practice. A short afternoon as it may be, we nevertheless obtained valuable ideas on polishing the slides, taking more variables into consideration and optimizing the experimental design.
We were a little nervous when we made the presentation, partly because it was the first time for us to do it. However, we learned that practice makes perfect and the better acquainted we became with our system, the more confident we will be. Since then, we worked ever harder and gradually had our own taste of doing scientific research.
On July 14th, we communicated with two iGEM teams from DLUT_China at Peking University. It is our great honor to invite them to come here.
The three teams introduced their projects in turn. We chose the three different tracks foundational advances, hardware and therapeutics, and shared advice from different points of view which benefited us in a major way. We’d like to thank professors Wei Ping and Zi Lihan for their specific instructions and kind help.
We then exchanged our experience in modelling, experiments and human practice and helped each other with troubleshooting. Our friends from DLUT_China then visited our lab and we talked about how to make use of the available space more efficiently.
It was a rather pleasant communication and we looked forward to further collaboration with them. Later on, we provided DLUT_China with plasmid pSB and it is our pleasure to collaborate with them.
To communicate with the teams from universities in Beijing and seek deeper cooperation, we invited colleagues from BIT-China, BNU-China, OUC-China, Tsinghua, and UCAS-China to Peking University and hosted the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition Symposium in Beijing on August 7th 2018.
Each of the six teams presented their projects and answered questions from the audience, which to a large extent gave them ideas on refining the project both scientifically and from the engineering standpoint.
After the presentations, we had a luncheon and all the students communicated with each other freely. We came up with a number of scientific questions worth exploring. We both accepted and offered several pieces of useful advice on modelling, which helped us and our friends to better explain and predict the systems. We also talked about some particular experimental techniques, which boosted the efficiency of lab work later on.
We took part in the Conference of the Chinese iGEM Community from August 27th to August 31st 2018 in ShanghaiTech. It was a great opportunity for us to learn from hundreds of iGEMers from across China and professors from different fields.
We made the presentation on the morning of August 28th. We made great progress in various aspects including speech fluency and artistic design of the slides. We were asked several questions about the functions of the phase separation system, which shed light on our experiments and reminded us of some potential new applications.
A total of 63 wonderful presentations and excellent posters in the following days took us on a brilliant tour of synthetic biology. We communicated, we doubted, we thought and we learned. It is our great pleasure to be a part of this year’s CCiC.
Tired, surprised, but delighted, we were given the awards fo the best presentation and the best poster, which encouraged us to try our best in the last one and a half months.