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From 2011.igem.org

Why we deserve a Gold Medal:

Bronze:

1. Team registration


Team registration was completed by all team members

2. Complete Judging Form




The judging form was completed and sent off on the 20th of September 2011.

3. Team Wiki




We, the Glasgow iGEM Team 2011, have created a colourful wiki, containing a summary of the project and information on all biobricks and constructs that we have created, as well as information on other interesting results and experiences we have had.

4. Present a poster and a talk at the iGEM Jamboree


We have created a poster and will present our project at the regional iGEM jamboree in Amsterdam on the 1st of October 2011.

5. At least one new submitted and well-characterized standard BioBrick Part or Device.


We have created multiple new biobricks, including the two amazing and extremely practical fluorescent reporters LOV2 and iLOV that function anaerobically and are very well suited to tag proteins due to their small size. On top of that we have created biobricks of the surfactant Latherin, and of c-di-GMP Phosphodiesterase that have multiple possible applications in synthetic biology. Currently we are awaiting the synthesis of our very own Multiple Cloning Site biobrick that will significantly ease testing and characterisation of novel biobricks for all future team by providing a pre-existing cassette that allows novel genes to be inserted easily and in a single ligation.
 Not only did we create novel, functional biobricks, we are also providing the registry with an all new chassis, E.coli Nissle 1917, which is easily transformable, compatible with standard E.coli constructs, non-pathogenic and forms biofilms!

Silver:

1. Demonstrate that at least one new BioBrick Part or Device of your own design and construction works as expected


Both iLOV and LOV2 work as expected when under a suitable promoter. They fluoresce at 510 - 550nm when excited by light of 476nm. 
Latherin works as expected, showing good surfactant properties. 
As our multiple cloning site biobrick is currently still in synthesis, demonstration of function is still pending, but the biobrick is expected to arrive fully functional and ready for shipping.

2. Characterize the operation of at least one new BioBrick Part or Device and enter this information in the “Main Page” section of that Part’s/Device’s Registry entry.


We have characterised the activity of iLOV and LOV2, as well as Latherin, and have uploaded all the information onto the Registry pages of our new Biobricks.

Gold:

1. Improve the function of an existing BioBrick Part or Device (created by another team or your own institution in a previous year) and enter this information in the Registry (in the “Experience” section of that BioBrick’s Registry entry), and don't forget to create a new registry page for the improved part.


We have ligated multiple different promoters to ribosome binding sites of varying strengths, which should significantly simplify their use by other iGEM teams in the future. These constructs were then used to characterise a series of light-dependent promoters, and the results were entered on the ‘Experience’ pages of the respective biobricks. We have also created multiple constructs of coding devices with RBSs and terminators for better ease-of-use. 
Additionally, we worked on improving and characterising the red-light sensing system improved by the Edinburgh iGEM team, (Part BBa_K322127 and BBa_K322128) and created two alternative reporter systems for the constructs, using YFP and RFP. 


2. Help another iGEM team by, for example, characterizing a part, debugging a construct, or modeling or simulating their system.


We helped out the St. Andrews team by providing them with more of the submission vector, when they ran out of it. We have also been working on characterising the red-light-responsive systems from Edinburgh, as well as getting them sequenced. 
Additionally, we have created a handbook which we will be handing out at the jamboree, that contains all vital information for any iGEM team, such as information about registration, safety, ligations, biobrick ends and scarring, submission etc. This should be invaluable to any future iGEM team, and we propose that it be sent out along with the starter kits next year.

3. Outline and detail a new approach to an issue of Human Practice in synthetic biology as it relates to your project, such as safety, security, ethics, or ownership, sharing, and innovation.


As a new approach to human practices we endeavoured to make our day-to-day activities as visible to the public as possible. Each week, one of us created a video blog, containing a summary of what happened at the lab that week and how we were feeling about it. The videos we posted on Youtube. One team member wrote a blog at Life Sciences of Scotland , providing a more detailed description of her feelings towards the project and its progress. We also wrote an introduction to modelling suitable for the layman, that gives a straightforward, easy to understand introduction to modelling, and specifically to the model we used to test our system.
 And last but not least we had a webcam running in the lab every day, that created a time-lapse video of our activities. Our wiki displays a video that condenses a full week of lab-work into about 1 minute. This video is also available to watch by any member of the public, on youtube