Judging
Judging is an integral part of any iGEM project as every team is assessed by their overall achievements posed by iGEM criteria.
Bronze Medal
Competition Deliverables
For the bronze medal criterion we completed with all deliverables posed by the iGEM judging committee:
- Wiki
-
Presentation video (will be posted in the iGEM Video Universe after release)
- To get a first insight you can watch our already published promotion video on our homepage or click here.
- Judging form
- Judging session at the Grand Jamboree
Project Attributions
On our attributions page, we acknowledged internal and external attributions to our project according to the iGEM form.
Contribution
Contributions to the iGEM are community include:
NRPieceS Platform
We established the NRPieceS Platform, an easy and accessible workflow for antibiotic discovery. It covers all steps, from heterologous biosynthetic gene cluster expression in E. coli, through NRPS engineering and peptide production, to peptide functionalization and bioactivity testing. For this purpose, we established a modular and standardized Golden Gate cloning system for NRPS engineering, enabling efficient and versatile recombination of NRPS modules. This framework empowers future teams to generate new-to-nature peptides with novel bioactivities for drug discovery.
NRPieceS Plasmid Collection and NRPieceS Toolbox
We created the NRPieceS Plasmid Collection, a set of 160 plasmids designed to make NRPS engineering accessible to future iGEM teams. The collection includes 9 plasmids for heterologous biosynthetic gene cluster expression, 9 Golden Gate acceptor plasmids, and 35 donor plasmids. These donor plasmids form the NRPieceS Toolbox, providing a standardized set of modular building blocks that streamline NRPS engineering and library construction. Furthermore, it contains a 105 tripartite NRPS expression plasmids.
Non-ribosomal Peptide Library
Using combinatorial transformation, our 105 tripartite NRPS expression plasmids allows the production of over 50,000 engineered NRPS producing a library of thousands of novel cyclic peptides in E. coli (Characterizing our Parts) opening up a vast range of applications for future projects. Those imply the screening for novel bioactivities against bacteria
(Screening our Parts for Bioactivity), fungi or plant pathogens, finding new inhibitors of enzymes or design of receptor ligands that can be used as input in synthetic circuits.
Protocols for natural product production and analysis in E. coli
This resource makes NRPS engineering accessible for future iGEM teams. We developed robust protocols for NRPS cloning, expression, characterization by LC/MS analysis, peptide purification, and bioactivity testing. By sharing these methods, we provide the practical foundation for NRPS engineering applicable to significantly accelerate antibiotic discovery. We provide an extensive reference dataset for other teams, along with instructions to ensure reproducible use of our platform. We also guide users on how to analyze the data and which controls are necessary to generate reliable and reproducible results.
Software
We developed mATChmaker, a computational pipeline designed to address one
of the central bottlenecks in NRPS engineering: the limited predictability of module
compatibility in engineered NRPS proteins. By combining algorithms for calculating cluster
similarity, with a high-throughput 3D structure prediction our mATChmaker software provides
all drylab tools required to improve NRPS engineering success rates.
Providing compatibility predictions as well as structural insights into NRPS assembly
lines prior to experimental validation, it is a substantial step toward establishing
design principles for NRPS engineering.
Detailed information on our contributions to the iGEM community is collected on the contributions page.
Silver Medal
Engineering Success
The NRPieceS project progressed through multiple iterations of the Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) Engineering Cycle, applied across key aspects such as the establishment of our Golden Gate technology, NRPieceS toolbox, and peptide functionalization for drug delivery. Each cycle allowed us to refine our approach, optimize results, and deepen our understanding of the system. For a detailed overview of our engineering process, please visit our engineering page.
Human Practices
In developing NRPieceS, we aimed to create a responsible and impactful solution by integrating scientific, social, and environmental considerations into every stage of our work. Throughout the project, we actively engaged with stakeholders from academia, industry and government, ensuring our approach to peptide antibiotic discovery remained innovative, adaptable, and grounded in real-world needs.
For more information, visit the human practices page.
Gold Medal
Parts Collection
Our NRPieceS project has developed a coherent collection of synthetic biology parts designed to advance the discovery and delivery of peptide antibiotics. Each part in our collection is well-documented on the iGEM Parts Registry, including detailed descriptions, functional annotations, and experimental validation data. These parts are intended to be modular and interoperable, facilitating the engineering of diverse peptide-based therapeutic systems. By contributing to this collection, we aim to enhance the accessibility and adaptability of peptide antibiotic research for the synthetic biology community.
For more information, explore the collection NRPieceS library or visit the parts collection page.
Integrated Human Practices
Our NRPieceS project integrates human practices throughout its development by actively engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, including research experts, regulatory authorities, hospital staff, and industry professionals. Feedback from these interactions has directly shaped our peptide antibiotic discovery strategies, guiding decisions in both design and implementation. By considering the ethical, social, and environmental dimensions of our project, we wanted to ensure that our solutions are not only scientifically sound but also socially responsible and aligned with real-world needs. This continuous integration of stakeholder insights exemplifies our commitment to responsible and impactful synthetic biology innovation.
For more information, visit the human practices page.
Software
For the NRPieceS project, we developed software tools to streamline peptide antibiotic discovery, including functionalities for sequence analysis, library design, and 3D structure prediction. Our software is user-friendly, well-documented, and openly accessible, enabling other researchers to replicate and build upon our work. By combining practical utility with rigorous validation, our tools support the broader synthetic biology community and contribute to advancing reproducible and efficient research workflows.
For more information, visit the software page.