Encouraging the Advancement of Synthetic Biology at iGEM 2012

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), the world leader in oligonucleotide synthesis, served as one of the key sponsors for the 2012 International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM). The competition, which encourages innovative research for the design and build of functional biological systems within living cells, saw 191 undergraduate teams from different nationalities register for the 2012 event. IDT provided the young research teams with access to their high-quality oligo products, including primers and synthetic genes, and was delighted to have 3 of their sponsored teams placed in the top 4 positions, with some impressive, novel bio-engineering models—an exciting prospect for future biological applications of the IDT product range.

April’s edition of DECODED, the international IDT customer newsletter, features the pioneering synthetic biology work of the Slovenian team (runners up in the 2012 World Championship Jamboree) and explores how their ‘Switch-it’ system acts to deliver therapeutics directly to target tissues via engineered, encapsulated cells. The sophisticated system utilizes TAL-effector domains with activator and repressor elements, and displays clever delivery and degradation capacity, developed with IDT gBlocks™ Gene Fragments. The system provides real biological potential for the delivery of gene-derived therapeutics.

To learn more about the Switch-it system please read the complete article in the April 3.2 issue of DECODED.

IDT will continue to support iGEM events, and will be offering further sponsorship opportunities for 2013 teams.