Description
Greetings from Team iGEM! We are a group of undergraduates who are passionate about synthetic biology and genetic engineering. We represent IIT Madras at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition, the world’s largest synthetic biology competition. Synthetic biology is an emerging discipline in biotechnology that aims to apply engineering principles to biological systems.
The competition started in MIT as a course in 2003 and is now a global competition. It saw participation from 400 teams in 2023, reaching 45+ countries and over 4000 participants.
Participating since 2008, our Institute’s team has presented projects on a wide range of topics. Our goal is to solve real-world challenges by pushing the boundaries of synthetic biology through research and innovation.
Our Current Project
One of the grand challenges in space exploration is in situ resource utilization. The idea is to make use of resources on other planets or celestial bodies to produce materials necessary for human use. This eliminates the need to transport materials from Earth, which can be expensive and cumbersome.
For the iGEM 2024 Competition, we are working on developing a novel synthetic biological approach to in situ resource utilization of silicon on Mars. Silicon solubilizing bacteria like Pseudomonas will be used to convert the silicates in Martian soil into a usable form. These will be taken up by the unicellular photosynthetic diatom Phaeodactylum, which requires silicon for its growth.
These diatoms are genetically engineered to produce a product of our interest. When these diatoms die, the act as a nutrient source for the bacteria, forming a sustainable closed loop system. As a proof of concept, we are engineering the diatoms to produce the drug acetaminophen.
This project will be the first time Martian soil silicon has been used to drive a biological process to produce a product of human interest. We aim to win the Undergraduate Grand Prize and the Best Space Project at the 2024 iGEM Competition, due to be held in Paris in October.
Our Achievements
Our team at IIT Madras has a long history with the iGEM Competition, with our most recent triumph in 2023. In past editions, we have won:
• 5 Gold Medals (2023, 2018, 2013, 2011, 2010)
• 5 Silver Medals (2019, 2017, 2016, 2009, 2008)
• Best Human Practices Advance, Asia (2013)
• Best New BioBrick Part, Asia (2011)
• Best Safety Commendation, Asia (2011)
• Best New BioBrick Part (2008)
• Best Foundational Advance (2008)
We have also received awards in other prestigious competitions:
• Grand Prize: iGEM Indian League (2023)
• Scientific Contribution Award: International Directed Evolution Competition (2022)
• Industry Advisory Award: International Directed Evolution Competition (2022)
• Best Computational Project: Global Open Genetic Engineering Competition (2021)
Sponsorship
To achieve our goals, we are seeking to raise funds for this year’s project. Our budget for this year is around 19 lakhs INR. A breakdown of our proposed budget for this year can be found here.
We request our alumni to contribute generously and join us in our endeavour to drive innovation in synthetic biology and genetic engineering!
