Team:Macquarie Australia/Achievements

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Gold

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At least two criteria must be met:

Expand on your silver medal activity by demonstrating how you have integrated the investigated issues into the design and/or execution of your project.	Integration of our human practices investigation was achieved by introducing changes to the [Concept Design]. One of these changes included making the design smaller so that it could be portable and used to power machines such as cars or farm equipment and vehicles. Several safety mechanisms were integrated into the design to avoid environmental contamination if the cells were to escape containment. These include; removing hemH so that the cells can’t create it themselves, and because the cells need a rich carbon source such as glucose to survive they will die outside of the containment chamber. An addition feature involves using CRISPR to insert the chlorophyll synthesis sequences – this will ensure the DNA is incorporated into the genome rather than existing in a plasmid inside the cell. This added layer of protection decreases the possibility of the genetic information being transferred.
Improve the function OR characterization of an existing BioBrick Part or Device and enter this information in the Registry. Please see the Registry help page on how to document a contribution to an existing part. This part must NOT be from your 2016 part number range.	We have improved the chlH part [BBa_K1640019] documented by the 2015 Macquarie Australia iGEM team.
Demonstrate a functional proof of concept of your project. Your proof of concept must consist of a BioBrick device; a single BioBrick part cannot constitute a proof of concept. (biological materials may not be taken outside the lab).	We have demonstrated a functional proof of concept of our project by metabolically engineering E.coli to make PPIX. We have assembled all genes required to convert PPIX to Magnesium PPIX (precursor of chlorophyll) in the Mg-Chelatase Plasmid. There was proof of concept in that the E.coli was expressing proteins in this operon. There was no detectable Mg-PP in the DH5a strain with this plasmid. We made a hemeH mutant using CRISPR mutagenesis, which accumulated PPIX. In this mutant background the Mg-PP was made from the proteins expressed by the Mg-chelatase plasmid.

Silver

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All criteria must be met:

Experimentally validate that at least one new BioBrick Part or Device of your own design and construction works as expected. Document the characterization of this part in the Main Page section of that Part’s/Device’s Registry entry. Submit this new part to the iGEM Parts Registry. This working part must be different from the part documented in bronze medal criterion #4.	We have validated and documented the characterisation of our parts Mg-chelatase plasmid [BBa_K1998000] and psbMZHWK [BBa_K1998004] and submitted these to the iGEM Parts Registry.
Convince the judges you have helped any registered iGEM team from high school, a different track, another university, or another institution in a significant way by, for example, mentoring a new team, characterizing a part, debugging a construct, modelling/simulating their system or helping validate a software/hardware solution to a synbio problem.	Our major collaboration was with NTU Singapore. We also participated in collaborations with South Africa and Paris Bettencourt. To read a summary of our collaborations please click here.
iGEM projects involve important questions beyond the lab bench, for example relating to (but not limited to) ethics, sustainability, social justice, safety, security, and intellectual property rights. Demonstrate how your team has identified, investigated, and addressed one or more of these issues in the context of your project. Your activity could center around education, public engagement, public policy issues, public perception, or other activities (see the human practices hub for more information and examples of previous teams' exemplary work).	As part of our Human Practices engagement we have addressed the following concerns and issues surrounding our project. In addition, we have actively engaged with the pubic and wider community to increase awareness of Synthetic Biology. Sustainability Designing a concept as a way to utilise hydrogen fuel created by photosynthesis. Hydrogen as a source of energy does not contribute to carbon emissions and is therefore more sustainable than traditional fuel sources. Public engagement/Education MQ taster day: educating and engaging highschool students on the subject of synthetic biology and iGEM. Hydrogen myth busters: gauging public perceptions on hydrogen fuel and providing them with accurate information. Undergrad poster seminar: presenting a preliminary poster to a large group of undergraduates and academics from other faculties and educating them on the science and applications of synthetic biology. Powerhouse Museum partnership: we work closely with the museum of applied art and science, we have provided them with parts for display. Prof. Ian Paulsen and Prof. Nicolle Packer gave a lecture about our project at the museum. Internship: Transcontinental iGEM Macquarie Internship (TiMI) - a French student became a member of our team to aid in our research as well as further his own knowledge and equip him with the information to start his own iGEM team.

Bronze

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All criteria must be met:

Register for iGEM, have a great summer, and attend the Giant Jamboree.	We have registered for the Giant Jamboree and will be attending to present our poster and our project.
Meet all deliverables on the Requirements page (section 3).	We have: Created a Team Wiki to document our project Designed a poster to present at the Giant Jamboree Created a presentation to deliver at the Giant Jamboree Attributed all of the work completed for our project Created and documented Part pages on the Registry for the Parts we have made Submitted DNA samples of our new parts to the Registry Completed all required Safety Forms Completed a Judging Form for our team
Create a page on your team wiki with clear attribution of each aspect of your project. This page must clearly attribute work done by the students and distinguish it from work done by others, including host labs, advisors, instructors, sponsors, professional website designers, artists, and commercial services.	Click here to go to our Attributions page
Document at least one new standard BioBrick Part or Device central to your project and submit this part to the iGEM Registry (submissions must adhere to the iGEM Registry guidelines). You may also document a new application of a BioBrick part from a previous iGEM year, adding that documentation to the part main page.	14 parts have been documented and submitted to the Parts Registry for which we are claiming a Bronze Medal for. Please click here to read a summary of our parts submission.