▼ CONTRIBUTIONS ▼

OVERVIEW

Our project aims to address microplastic pollution by way of engineering enhanced biological catalysts. Our wet lab team focused on genetic engineering to raise the affinity and thermostability of PETase, while our hardware team developed a functional prototype for simultaneous microplastic and heavy metal filters. This integrated approach provides a potential of applying synthetic biological methods to environmental cleanup.

The oceans, covering 70% of area on Earth and the home of all marine life, is tantamount to the substance of human life. The seas come across as more intimate to all of us especially considering the fact that we are based in Hong Kong, a city which is inseparable from the coasts and oceans from its coasts and origins as a deep-water port. Seeing marine life in distress has given us impetus to act upon it, to show that we need not accept the state of the oceans as is.

PROJECT CONTRIBUTIONS

Having modified E. coli by inserting the plasmids, for instance CsgA (BBa_25HOIJ11), BaCBM2 (BBa_25322080), and making use of the HotPETase variant (BBa_25FWBRO7), we have verified that thermostability benefits the effectiveness and efficiency of PET degradation via HotPETase. Our experiments also open possible new fronts for research in enzyme expression via the curli fibre of bacteria, pioneering alternative bioengineered methods in tackling plastic pollution in water. This can be referred to by future iGEM teams.

By using 3D printing technology and custom made parts, we have successfully incorporated our genetically modified E. coli onto physical hardware, allowing everyone to easily utilise our projects in real-world scenarios. With the addition of calcium alginate beads to our hardware, we have created a multi-purposed system where we can simultaneously remove microplastics and heavy metal in polluted waters. Such systems allow for the use of our project as reference by any future iGEM teams passionate about similar causes.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF NEW BASIC AND COMPOSITE PARTS

Our team has designed and tested combinations of parts to enhance PET degradation. Our basic parts include:

Composite parts and fusion constructs:

HUMAN PRACTICES CONTRIBUTIONS

Our team had significantly made large contributions not only to the iGEM community, but also stressed on the importance of passing on this knowledge, spirit, and passion to juniors and younger generations.

Having orchestrated a gel electrophoresis workshop, we have more than successfully demonstrated how synthetic biology is coherent with developments in our daily life, as well as given them detailed pictures about the iGEM world. The genuine enthusiasm and curiosity to learn in depth emphasises how we succeed in inspiring the younger group to enhance what we have been doing. Not only did we educate them through workshops, we did not stop there. Performing talks with more than 400 juniors is more than just a challenge in public speaking. It also represents a passionate cause for us to emphasise the importance of moving forward, and taking the initiative to be a leader in solving major world problems.

Our work didn’t stop in education. Our team believes firmly that outreach can only be enhanced through exchange. Our facilitated productive exchange with the iGEM team of Tsinghua University is not only scientific talks. Not only did we manage to enhance both our projects and recognise our achievements, we had taken the opportunity to openly discuss how our projects can help change our world, be it solving water pollution or enhancing vinasse recycling. This gives us inspiration and ideas of how we can continue on our journey of synthetic biology.

In iGEM, only writing documentations and spending days in laboratories will just be empty words if we do not step out of our comfort zones and confront the grim reality. Our expedition workshop with the Swire Institute of Marine Sciences at Cape d’Aguillar allows us to face the realities of what we are dealing with in our project. Understanding the real situation by looking at it ourselves through voluntary cleaning and collecting data of plastic disposes is crucial for us to enhance our project, not only urging us to contribute to the protection of marine ecosystems, but also giving us motivation to step forward with our project.

We as students do not hold an all-knowing knowledge, enough to solve an issue of such scale solely by ourselves. Therefore our team finds it crucial to contact senior experienced individuals with the same goals as us. Hence, we have proactively reached out to professors of different institutions, be it local or international. Our exchange with Professor Nathan Crook of NC State University is more than talking about enhancing our project. We have been able to expand our horizons, talking about different potential solutions and advice, as well as having a detailed understanding of promoting and acting as advisors to future iGEM teams, as we are also the pioneers of protecting aquatic ecosystems from microplastic pollution.

Last but not least, Professor Michael Chan’s long term mentorship with us, be it teaching our team professional lab safety, providing the opportunities of using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and giving us access to chemicals for our experiment, helped us significantly in the development of our project. He had greatly inspired us to follow in his footsteps of advising the future generations of iGEM.

CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE iGEM TEAMS

Our team has also similarly made contributions to future iGEM teams by making modifications to biological parts, as well as coming up with hardware for the protection of our genetically engineered enzymes. The human practice we undertook has also set examples for future iGEM teams to follow, out of our unique approach to the topic.

The wet lab sessions we undertook resulted in a successful proof of concept; in particular the findings that thermostability proves to be positive for the efficiency and sustainability of the four kinds of genes, with the utilisation of the curli fibres to act as surface display for enzymes and cellulose binding molecule to bind to crystalline PET. Given the nature of HotPETase as enzymes, we believe that the two core experimental observations will help future iGEM teams in investigating plastic degradation, and to a greater extent the functions of enzymes, should they be inclined to do so. Our fusion proteins look forward to becoming a base platform for PET degradation on which future iGEM teams may do additional work and optimisation.