Oct 30

Oct 30 iGEM’s Vision: Imagining the Future

by iGEM HQ

As the eve of the 2019 Giant Jamboree approaches, it’s a good time to reflect on the continued evolution of the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education, competition, and innovation.

The iGEM Giant Jamboree is the biggest event in synthetic biology.

iGEM was created by imagining the future. Back in 2003, early pioneers in synthetic biology created an intersession course at MIT by imagining students working together to build functional biological devices within a summer. The course was set up as a sandbox for innovation. Students were not prescribed themes or given specific problems to solve, and instead were given space to use synthetic biology to tackle problems however they saw fit. The course evolved into what is now known as the iGEM competition.

That first imagined future has long ago become a practical reality. Tens of thousands of students have experienced the thrill of working together to build functional biological devices within a summer through participating in the iGEM competition. Those students have benefitted from the work and guidance of the many professionals that have dedicated their time and expertise, including those serving as instructors, mentors and iGEM judges, or on committees for Diversity, Human Practices, Judging, Measurement, Safety and Security, and Responsible Conduct. And the iGEM community continues to grow beyond the competition, with numerous opportunities for engagement through After iGEM.

iGEM continues to lead in synthetic biology by imagining the future. In early years, iGEM teams built biological devices using standardized DNA parts and assembly technologies. These DNA parts became the basis for the Registry of Standardized Biological Parts, which has grown exponentially and continues to be a world class resource for synthetic biology through iGEM’s Get & Give (& Share) philosophy. iGEM has become a natural test-bed for new ideas and approaches in synthetic biology, and has laid the foundation for building a global synthetic biology industry. Moreover, the values of iGEM, including respect for all people and perspectives, now serve as a leading example for those practicing synthetic biology all over the world.

Teams used to share samples of parts by cloning them into pSB1C3, and shipping them to iGEM Headquarters.

Over the past five years, iGEM teams have been able to live in the future thanks to DNA synthesis brought directly to the teams through iGEM’s partners and sponsors. Instead of building new standardized parts by tediously piecing together fragments of DNA, teams could synthesize parts. Instead of worrying about assembling parts to construct devices, teams could synthesize entire devices. Their time was freed up so that they could spend more time on designing, measuring, characterizing and documenting their parts and devices. And with DNA synthesis at their fingertips, teams have been employing newer assembly methods like Gibson and Type IIS.

Today, iGEM imagines a synthesis-rich future – synthetic biology without DNA manipulation – where information about a part is far more valuable than the physical sample. In this imagined future, engineers will not be concerned with samples and assembly because they will be able to synthesize their designs entirely. Their focus will be on the information associated with the biological system, and exchanging information about parts will replace the need to exchange physical samples between labs. Data and documentation of parts will become far more valuable than ever before. And eventually the focus on information will enable synthetic biologists to design a biological device, order it, and proceed with testing it as soon as it arrives in the mail.

iGEM 2019 Team Estonia receiving their IDT DNA

In 2019, iGEM took further steps towards making this future a reality. For starters, DNA synthesis is playing an even greater role in the competition, with both more DNA synthesis for iGEM teams as well as DNA synthesis for the Registry. Thanks to generous offers from Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) and Twist Bioscience, each iGEM team received up to 30 KB of custom DNA for their projects. And at the end of the season, iGEM teams no longer needed to submit physical samples to the Registry. Instead, iGEM’s partners synthesized samples of part submissions for the Registry so they would be available to the iGEM community through future DNA distributions.

Also in 2019, iGEM is officially supporting parts that are Type IIS compatible. With Type IIS assembly methods, teams can build entire devices in a single reaction, which will allow them to design, build, and test more devices in a shorter amount of time. These technologies will help bridge the gap between today’s reality where synthesized parts are still assembled together, and the synthesis-rich, information-focused future we envision where complete genetic devices arrive in the mail.

iGEMers are today’s pioneers in synthetic biology. By continually imagining the future, iGEM supports these pioneers who dream of a better tomorrow and are working to make positive contributions to the world through synthetic biology. We invite you to join us in imagining the future as we gather together at the Giant Jamboree to celebrate the work and accomplishments of all who participated in iGEM 2019. Contact us with your ideas, suggestions, comments, or proposals for partnership!