The Alberta Genetically Engineered Machines (aGEM) Jamboree is the Alberta warm-up for the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition, which challenges students to design and build biological machines using DNA segments, called BioBricks™. These parts can be assembled to create a wide variety of applications, from biosensors for identifying environmental contaminants to cancer therapies.
aGEM offers participants the opportunity to practice their presentations, which are judged by a panel of national experts, providing teams with feedback to further finesse their scientific methodologies and to hone their presentations before moving on to iGEM.
Tech Futures' support includes providing expert advice to Alberta teams (through the aGEM Jamboree), establishing relationships with media and coaching the teams through interviews, as well as covering important costs such as registration fees and project seed money.
Through the aGEM program, Tech Futures continues to attract and support high quality students in the platform research area of Synthetic Biology.
FORMS and GUIDELINES
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Hill
Analyst
jennifer.hill [at] albertainnovates.ca
2012 Program Update
Alberta post-secondary institutions / faculty who are interested in operating an iGEM team in the 2012 season are required to register their team with iGEM Headquarters, fulfilling all of their eligibility requirements in regards to faculty support, lab space, team composition and safety. Tech Futures will arrange payment of registration fees for Alberta teams that fulfill these requirements. Please send us the confirmation of your team registration NO LATER than Wednesday, March 28 so we may conclude payment to iGEM Headquarters before the March 31 deadline.
Registration page for iGEM Headquarters.
Once registration is complete and fees are paid, Alberta teams are invited to submit a grant application. The application forms will be available online on April 10, 2012. Teams have until May 7, 2012 to complete their application and submit it to Tech Futures. If the application is successful, a Notification of Award will be available by May 17, 2012. If you have questions or concerns about the grant application process, please contact Jennifer Hill (contact information above).
2012 Calendar of Events
*Please note that these dates are subject to change with all updates provided here.
March 28 Confirmation of team registration at iGEM Headquarters
March 31 Deadline for team registration and fee payment at iGEM Headquarters
April 10 Grant Application forms available on this website
May 7 Grant Applications due to Tech Futures
May 26-27 Spring Workshop – Calgary: Ethics/Human Practices, Synbio Project Review, Entrepreneurial Bootcamp
July 21-22 Summer Workshop – Lethbridge: Presentation Skills, Synbio Project Review, Computational Modeling
September 15-16 5th Annual aGEM Jamboree – Edmonton: All Canadian teams will be invited to participate
October Americas West Regional Jamboree – Stanford University (exact date to be determined)
November 2-5 iGEM World Championship – MIT
2011 Team Abstracts
Team Alberta: Genetically engineering a common fungus to produce biodiesel from cellulosic waste.
Converting food into biofuel is an unsustainable proposition. Our project focuses on the creation of cellulosic biodiesel using waste products. We are engineering Neurospora crassa, a highly efficient cellulose metabolizer, to produce an excess of fatty acids by both inhibiting beta oxidation and up-regulating fatty acid synthesis by the one-step replacement of the FadD gene with a thioesterase gene. We are testing the growth of Neurospora on a variety of waste substances and are developing an efficient chemical esterification method to convert the fatty acids into fatty acid methyl esters, a common biodiesel requiring no changes to current fuel delivery infrastructure. Neurospora crassa's broad substrate preferences give it unique advantages for bioproduction from cellulose. We have therefore developed an efficient and reliable system for modular bioengineering of Neurospora including a starter kit of basic reusable parts with the intent of creating a novel chassis for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Learn more about Team Alberta.
Team Calgary: Senseomonas NAstytoxins
The University of Calgary’s iGEM team is working on developing an electrochemical biosensor for Naphthenic Acids (NAs). NAs are toxic surfactants released into tailings ponds as a by-product of the bitumen extraction process of oil sands. Microorganisms indigenous to tailings ponds that are uniquely capable of degrading NAs suggest that bioremediation may be a viable solution. To be successful, however, levels of NAs need to be monitored and existing methods for detection are costly and offsite. Using two NA-degrading organisms relatively new to iGEM: microalgae and pseudomonads, we used bioinformatics and a novel NA affinity-based screen in an attempt to identify a sensory element. In the process, we have characterized an electrochemical reporter system and built a working measurement device. We have also submitted new parts for future work in microalgae, as well as novel parts to move constructs between Pseudomonas and E. coli. Learn more about Team Calgary.
Team Lethbridge: Tailings pond clean up kit, a synthetic biology approach to bioremediation
Mining extraction and refining processes produce toxic by-products that are often stored in tailings ponds. Tailings ponds are artificial reservoirs where the by-products such as toxic organic compounds, heavy metals or fine clay particles are stored until they are remediated by industrial treatment or natural degradation, which can require decades. We are developing the components necessary to create a tailings pond clean up kit for removal of harmful by-products. The first component uses the xylene degradation pathway of Pseudomonas putida optimized by the use of a protein microcompartment produced from the engineered Aquifex aeolicus protein lumazine synthase. The second component removes heavy metals by producing nanoparticles with the Magnetospirillum magneticum protein Mms6. The third component causes sedimentation of fine clay particles using natural properties of Eschericia coli and cell aggregation with Antigen 43. The final component removes the genetically modified organism’s DNA by using restriction endonucleases. Learn more about Team Lethbridge.
Team British Columbia: iSynthase: Mass production of terpenes in yeast
In nature, terpenes are mostly synthesized and secreted by plants as a defense against pathogenic attacks by insects and fungi, such as the case of the mountain pine beetle infestation. These compounds are also utilized in pharmaceuticals, fragrances, food, and energy industries, which drives interest for high-scale production. Hence, we aim to optimize production of terpenes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast by constructing the biosynthetic pathways necessary to synthesize and retain these compounds. To simulate the system, we are also developing a model of terpene production in yeast using SimBiology Toolkit in MATLAB. In parallel, we are constructing a mathematical model to predict the dynamics of the mountain pine beetle populations in British Columbia, Canada under the influence of our synthetic yeast. Learn more about Team British Columbia.