Task

Describe the problem the team decided to solve and the solution the team suggested (max 2000 characters).

The UCopenhagen iGEM team designed to tackle the accumulation of what's termed ghost nets — fishing nets that end up lost drifting in the waters. Ghost nets are lethal to a variety of marine animals, including organisms close to the sediments. Nets are assembled from synthetic fibers which have a lifespan of several hundred years. Additionally, they break up into little bits — microplastics, which can be ingested by both wildlife and humans and are detrimental to health. Microplastics also intensify the greenhouse effect as they release gases during breakage and render microorganisms less effective in capturing CO2. All of the above constitute a pressing issue: to better contextualize the scale of this phenomenon, the ghost nets in the North Pacific Ocean total an area that's three times the area of France.

To combat this problem, the iGEM team synthesized a biodegradable fiber based on spider-silk protein as an alternative to commercial plastic nets. Such proteins can refold into conformations dominated by beta sheets, making them very robust. The fiber core was then coated by protein found in clams which acts as an intermediate water-proof layer that is also resitant to bacterial degradation. A peptide-protein pair that forms an isopeptide bond and can form a fusion protein was employed to link the layers together. Furthermore, this lock-and-key mechanism can serve as a platform allowing for attaching additional proteins to the fiber, providing an opportunity to further enhance and tune its proteins. For example, the team explored adding a bioluminescence mechanism to repel endangered animals in time. Their experimental approaches were guided partly by implementing a model to simulate the conformational changes that occur when the soluble silk protein is spun into becoming fiber.

Give one example on how this team reached out to the general public and one example on how they got feedback from the scientific community.

1. https://2022.igem.wiki/ucopenhagen/communication: Workshops in different Eco-Schools with the purpose of communicating and working on the Sustainable Development Goals
2. https://2022.igem.wiki/ucopenhagen/human-practices: Scientific integration, Problem 4

To outreach their efforts and findings in the general public, the team employed a multifaceted strategy. A key part of this approach was establishing communication with Eco-Schools — schools that are part of the largest global sustainable program targeted at young students. Through this collaboration, the team managed to raise awareness on the ghost nets matter, as well as showcasing how the field of Synthetic Biology can be applied to engineer effective solutions to achieve the long-sought after SDGs, or Sustainable Development Goals.

The UCopenhagen group used minispidroin proteins to form the fiber core. Trying to spin the protein solution, the protocol they had developed was found lacking, since the protein was eventually observed to cluster into clumps instead of a proper fibre-shaped string. The students approached the inventor of minispidroins and another professor who is considered to be an expert in biopolymer spinning. They then adjusted both the protocol procedures (gently mixing the solution sporadically) and the equipment used (a long extrusion capillary to align the various fibres).