How Opentrons fosters collaboration and innovation at the 2019 iGEM competition

Biology and engineering students from around the world gathered at the iGEM Foundation Competition in Boston to showcase the power and capabilities of synthetic biology to a global audience through sponsorship from Opentrons.

On the grand day of Halloween, the International Genetically Engineered Machine Design Competition ( iGEM ) Foundation opened in Massachusetts Boston, NY hosts the annual Student Synthetic Biology Competition. This event brings together biology and engineering students from around the world, who work together to showcase projects crafted over months to demonstrate the profound social impact synthetic biology is having in their communities and globally. .

Opentrons respects iGEM’s mission and commitment so much that, for the second year in a row, it is providing ten iGEM teams with access to the OT-2 pipetting robot along with our other open source tools. These participating teams from around the world work together to advance the development of synthetic biology. From providing water purification solutions for subtropical climates to discovering new biological materials from marine life, their efforts are changing the world.

Collaboration is key: working together to achieve results

In the 2019 iGEM competition, each project was the result of teamwork, with team members stepping out of their comfort zones to work together toward scientific advancement. After this unique and unforgettable learning experience, they also achieved extraordinary results.

A team at UC Davis has embarked on an amazing project. They cleverly used fluorescent dyes and microspheres from iGEM competition-standard dispensing packs to design a gradient dilution protocol suitable for both manual operation and OT-2 execution. They shared the protocol with seven other schools and asked them to report results for each version of the operation.

"This approach effectively tests the accuracy of OT-2," said team member Jodi Jacobs, a genetics and genomics student at UC Davis. By soliciting external feedback, UC Davis is able to assess how their experience with OT-2 performance compares to other schools, providing them with more accurate evaluation criteria while promoting the interdisciplinary collaboration that iGEM promotes. Furthermore, given the consistent results provided by other teams, "the robot performed pretty well," Jacobs said. "We really enjoyed using it." She told us, "We're actually coaching a team in the lab space. New team uses OT-2 for ELISA assay "This new team is composed of young scientists who lack pipetting experience, so pipetting robots like OT-2 are very popular in laboratories. “They’re very excited,” Jacobs said. “It’s great to have an Opentrons robot.”

Growth mindset: turning setbacks into opportunities

Other teams also learned valuable lessons during the execution of experiments, recognizing that the experimental process includes other factors as well as laboratory protocols. For example, the ITESO Universidad Jesuita De Guadalajara team discovered the importance of advocacy. Their academic institution had never participated in the iGEM competition before, so in order to enter, they had to demonstrate the importance of their project to key stakeholders in order to gain funding and the support of a faculty advisor. Without this support, they would not be able to compete.

After receiving basic financial support, the ITESO team continues to work on their project: using cyanobacteria to purify saltwater to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and hopefully slow climate change. It was an amazing project, and while they didn't make the ideal progress and weren't able to fully integrate OT-2 into their lab setup, the team members still developed strong connections with their global peers and were inspired by it. Continue to advocate for change in your community.

This spirit is exactly what iGEM advocates.

Leiden University also worked together to overcome the setbacks and challenges encountered by the team. Every morning, team members gather together to discuss and assign tasks for the day, as well as review problems encountered the day before. The Leiden team's project, focused on using suckerin to create new biomaterials to treat burn patients, taught them that setting realistic expectations is just as important as working toward a passionate vision. Jo-Anne Verschoor, the Leiden team's scientific manager, explains how overconfidence hampered their cloning efforts. Instead of using the plasmids recommended in the iGEM competition distribution package, the Leiden team chose their own plasmids because "iGEM's plasmids are very suitable for cloning but not for production." The team has been trying for weeks without success. , and finally they went back to the original plasmid, and it worked immediately. This took a lot of time and troubleshooting, leaving the Leiden team with little time to redesign their automated experiments. However, they successfully participated in a collaborative measurement project at UC Davis.

Celebrating iGEM’s success

Of the ten teams sponsored by Opentrons, seven received medals or track awards in recognition of their outstanding performance:

Gold Medal Winner:

• Ocean University of China
• University of Lethbridge

Silver Medal Winner:

• new york university
• University of California, Davis
• Leiden University

Special Award:

• Best Manufacturing Project Track Award (Undergraduate) - Leiden University
• Best Foundational Progress (Undergraduate) – National University of Singapore
• Best Parts Collection (Undergraduate) - National University of Singapore
• Track Award for Best Fundamental Progression Project (Undergraduate) - TU Delft

We are proud of their achievements, but we are even more proud of the extremely high level of ambition that all teams have demonstrated in their projects:

• cairo university团队致力于开发可持续的微生物和无细胞脱盐系统，以帮助埃及不断增长的人口提供安全饮用水。
• Victoria University of Wellington团队则致力于创造一种高效、安全且可持续的酶燃料电池，通过改造大肠杆菌来过表达所需的酶并改善其功能。
• Ocean University of China团队努力创建模块化的核糖开关，使基因表达在工程系统中能够更容易地调整和调节。
• Leiden University团队的目标是在大肠杆菌中表达 Humboldt 鱿鱼的 suckerin 蛋白，并利用它们创造多功能、灵活且强大的新型生物材料。
• University of Guadalajara Usitania团队希望提高蓝藻的光合作用活性，以增强其固碳能力并生产有经济价值的代谢中间体。
• University of Lethbridge团队致力于开发一种可脱水和口服的重组胰岛素生产藻种，为当前的胰岛素生产和输送方法提供可行、低成本且易于获得的替代方案。
• University of California, Davis团队计划通过深入研究 iGEM 竞赛发放包中现有启动子的特性和表征，以及添加新元件，扩展哺乳动物合成生物学的可用基础工具。
• Delft University of Technology团队专注于设计一种新型体内正交复制和转录平台，该平台可以实现在多种细菌物种中进行更有效的定向进化。
• National University of Singapore团队希望延长E. coli的生产寿命，以提高其在工程蛋白质的生物制造中的效果。

Embodying the iGEM spirit in Opentrons workflows

Opentrons also hosted a hands-on workshop event at iGEM’s grand gathering. Kristin Ellis, Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Toma Morris, Senior Software Manager, took participants through the highly flexible and customizable Opentrons OT-2 automated pipetting platform. After explaining the OT-2's open source programming options and introducing other great features, such as the new thermal cycling module, Ellis provided participants with a chance to practice on an open source project: using Protocol Designer Create custom well plate patterns. Ellis asked which attendees had computers, and nine hands went up; students worked in small groups and used Protocol Designer to learn to design automation protocols and create custom well plate patterns that they could pick up at the Opentrons booth later in the day.

Keep inspiring

We are sincerely grateful to these teams and the iGEM Foundation for inspiring our continued commitment to creating low-cost laboratory automation solutions for biologists. By supporting synthetic biology and its emerging leaders with accessible technology, we are empowering the next generation of scientists to collaborate, innovate and advance the frontiers of biology. We look forward to seeing what these students accomplish next!

If you’re wondering how automation can work in your lab? Welcome to consult us.

All photos copyright iGEM Foundation and Jacob Knight.