The vitality of a garden comes from the differences between its scenes. Every participating team builds an exclusive "Garden Landscape" here, responding to real-world challenges with their unique cultural roots. Along this atlas, observe the science, find the roots, open a window, and follow the corridor.
Engineers E. coli to produce melatonin, using cut flowers as a postharvest senescence model. Melatonin 2.0 improves pathway modularity, cofactors, tryptophan flux.
Chinese culture: flowers symbolize resilience, refinement, integrity, prosperity; their brief bloom captures transience. CAU-China reinterprets extending flowers’ meaningful life through biotechnology, echoing resourcefulness and waste avoidance.
Engineers S. cerevisiae to detect mold VOCs before visible growth via mammalian olfactory receptors and a GPA1/Gaolf chimera. A multi-receptor array triggers mStayGold fluorescence; a portable LED/smartphone detector enables early warning in small granaries, reducing postharvest loss and mycotoxin risk.
Grain symbolizes national stability. Beijing’s 800-year granary culture used airflow and temperature control to prevent mold. Fungal Sentinel carries this legacy into synthetic biology: a yeast biosensor for household granaries.
CUHKSZ engineers E. coli biosensors detecting salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and abscisic acid in leaf fluid, signaling plant stress before wilting. A cell-free diagnostic kit ensures containment and affordability. Crowdsourced measurements aggregate into a high-resolution network mapping underground plant health.
Shenzhen’s tech pulse meets Lingnan’s silent ecological rhythms. The biosensor harmonizes ancient reverence for land with modern connectivity, translating plant chemical cues into visible fluorescence. Crowdsourced data transforms citizens into stewards of a living environmental network.
HKU targets chronic wounds in Hong Kong's aging population. Persistent inflammation driven by TNF-α, IL-6, and COX-2 via TLR4/NF-κB is interrupted using de novo proteins designed by RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN, AlphaFold3, and MD. An NO-responsive smart hydrogel delivers inhibitors only during hyperinflammation, breaking the cycle and promoting repair.
Hong Kong's TCM tradition used herbal plasters to regulate wounds, not aggressively excise tissue—"supporting healthy Qi to expel pathogenic factors." HKU modernizes this mild, regenerative philosophy: de novo peptides precisely block TLR4, suppressing hyperinflammation while preserving baseline immunity within an NO-responsive hydrogel.
HUBU-WUHAN develops a whole-cell biosensor for naphthalene, a persistent PAH. The system integrates fluorescent detection with engineered metabolic degradation pathways into one platform. This portable, low-cost tool enables on-site screening, transforming invisible pollutants into visible, actionable data for communities.
Rooted in reverence for water, the Yangtze is Wuhan's lifeblood. The philosophy of tian ren he yi reminds us that human well-being is inseparable from environmental health. The biosensor acts as a modern guardian of the river, bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary action through collective responsibility.
NariViva engineers probiotic bacteria to continuously produce naringenin locally, treating genitourinary syndrome of menopause. This living biotherapeutic provides anti-inflammatory, mucosa-protective, and microbiome-restoring effects, offering a sustainable alternative to hormonal or topical therapies.
Pomelo (wendan) is deeply linked to women in Chinese culture—named after a woman, symbolizing blessings and used for purification. Naringenin from pomelo peel offers weak estrogen-like activity. HunanU modernizes this bond through engineered probiotics for women's health.
HUST-China engineers a green closed loop using waste cotton textiles. Enzymatic saccharification, bacterial cellulose synthesis, cellulose nanocrystal self-assembly, and structural protein design replicate kingfisher feather structural color. The resulting Diancui-mimetic material is animal-free, mass-producible, and degradable.
Rooted in Diancui, a Chinese National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ming-Qing royal jewelry. The project inherits its iridescent aesthetic and craft logic while ending animal harm. It echoes "harmony between man and nature," reviving endangered craft through synthetic biology.
HZAU-China engineers B. thetaiotaomicron to express BSH, converting conjugated bile acids into free bile acids and modulating bile acid–FXR signaling to raise endogenous FGF21. A feline FGF21-ABD fusion protein promotes white adipose browning and UCP1 expression. Conjugation-based delivery, CAST integration, DCA-responsive feedback, and a nitrogen-dependent kill switch provide targeted, safe, and sustained weight management.
No cultural association document was provided for HZAU-China. Please upload the team’s Culture file to complete this section.
NEFU-China engineers Yarrowia lipolytica to convert waste lipids into chrysanthemic acid, an eco-friendly pyrethrin precursor. The AAA strategy combines accurate green pest control, alternative waste-lipid upcycling as sole carbon source, and AI-assisted protein engineering of MVA pathway enzymes. The platform aims for sustainable biomanufacturing and a transferable high-DMAPP module for isoprenoid biosynthesis.
Inspired by millennia of Chinese pest control—from the Book of Songs to Yao Chong's locust campaign—the project follows the ecological worldview of Dao fa zi ran: understand nature's rules and work with them. It continues the journey of pyrethrum from flower fields to the fermenter, renewing traditional wisdom of balance through synthetic biology.
NNU-CHINA addresses the environmental and health threats of chemical indigo production, which relies on toxic reagents like aniline and hydrocyanic acid. The team engineers E. coli BL21(DE3) to construct a complete indigo biosynthesis pathway, enhancing efficiency and strain stability through CRISPR-associated transposase (CAST) and spatial compartmentalization. This clean route aims to reduce the textile industry's footprint and provide a universal framework for high-value compounds.
Indigo dyeing is a Chinese intangible cultural heritage, represented by Nantong blue calico and traditional tie-dye. Plant-derived indigo is limited by yield and season, while chemical synthesis requires harsh conditions. Biosynthetic indigo, molecularly identical, offers a sustainable raw material compatible with manual dyeing, supporting heritage crafts without farmland. The team integrates this heritage into science outreach, empowering tradition through biotechnology.
Crustacean shell waste burdens the environment while efficient biocatalysts for chitooligosaccharide (COS) production are limited. ShellEvo combines chitosanase mining from extreme environments with rational protein engineering to improve activity and selectivity. It converts shell-derived chitosan into bioactive COS under mild conditions, reducing chemical use and enabling green valorization.
Traditional Chinese culture emphasizes medicinal-edible homology and preventive treatment, favoring daily health maintenance over aggressive therapy. COS aligns with this "treating disease before it arises" philosophy. Ancient materia medica records crustaceans as medicine; NNU-Nanjing-China uses biotechnology to unlock their modern value.
SHSBNU-CHINA explores brazzein, a natural sweet protein, as a low-calorie alternative to sugar. The team designs expression constructs in E. coli, compares fusion strategies for improved production and purification, and uses SDS-PAGE and concentration analysis to evaluate constructs. Protein engineering and computational modeling guide future variants, while Human Practices and the PrintScope educational microscope connect the science to real-world needs.
No cultural association document was provided for SHSBNU-CHINA. Please upload the team’s Culture file to complete this section.
ORCA targets APOE4 mRNA with therapeutic RNA editing, shifting the disease-associated protein toward a safer APOE3-like form without permanent DNA changes. Wet-lab experiments and computational modeling optimize editor structure, predict off-target effects, and guide delivery design. Control modules enhance specificity in disease-relevant cells, offering a modular RNA editing framework.
Suzhou gardens preserve cultural memory; orcas transmit ecological knowledge across generations. RNA editing mirrors the garden principle of "changing scenery with every step"—refining molecular messages without altering the DNA blueprint. ORCA connects traditional wisdom with biotechnology to protect personal memory, the essence of who we are.
SUSTech-MED engineers Lactobacillus plantarum L168 to biosynthesize sulforaphane and N-acetylcysteine, degrade glutamine, and convert brain ammonia into BCAAs. Delivered non-invasively via the nasal route to bypass the blood-brain barrier, the system targets the neural microenvironment, reducing ammonia toxicity, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress to relieve core autism symptoms.
The Chinese white dolphin—sensitive, socially communicative, and dependent on a clean environment—mirrors the inner world of autistic individuals. Its graceful barrier-crossing symbolizes nose-to-brain delivery bypassing the blood-brain barrier. Multi-pathway regulation gently restores neural balance, integrating synthetic biology with humanistic care and respect for dignity.
PUReCycle tackles MDI-based polyether polyurethane solid waste, which resists natural degradation and causes pollution through landfill and incineration. Using metagenomic mining, the team identifies novel PURases, expresses them in E. coli, rationally engineers AbPURase, and discovers PUC-series enzymes. Screened mutants with enhanced activity provide a biological route for polyurethane recycling.
Inspired by the Tao Te Ching—"constantly good at rescuing things, leaving no discarded objects"—and Qi Min Yao Shu's circular practices, the project translates "turning waste into treasure" into molecular biology. It applies ancient ecological wisdom to rebuild material cycles, offering a synthetic biology alternative to polluting disposal.
TEMPO is a modular synthetic timing system combining an oscillator, binary counter, and effector. Oscillator pulses define discrete units of biological time; an integrate-RDF counter records cycles into stable DNA states. Once a set count is reached, a state-specific promoter activates timed protein expression or programmed cell elimination. Modeling guides design for autonomous, programmable therapeutic and biocontainment systems.
Traditional Chinese timekeeping used Shichen and the Twenty-Four Solar Terms—organizing time through recurring natural rhythms rather than abstract numbers. TEMPO mirrors this logic: molecular oscillations become time units, a counter accumulates cycles, and accumulated rhythm triggers action. Both understand time through observable cycles, memory, and scheduled activity.
ZJUT-China engineers probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 with modules for gut colonization, biomarker sensing, and chromogenic reporting. It detects Fusobacterium nucleatum co-aggregation and elevated ethanolamine, producing a visible stool pigment. This non-invasive, low-cost home test enables early colorectal cancer detection without colonoscopy, improving compliance and survival outcomes.
Zhejiang's high-salt, low-fiber culinary tradition contributes to high CRC rates. Inspired by zhi wei bing—preventing disease before it arises—G-SCOUT turns a harmless probiotic into a living gut sentinel, much like ancestors used natural indicators of spoilage. It preserves culinary heritage while democratizing early screening, fusing ancient preventive wisdom with modern biotechnology.
CellApp
Insert the full team introduction text here...
Insert the full project description text here...
Insert the full cultural connection text here...
Team BWYA is made up of students in Grades 9 to 11 from different schools, cities, and backgrounds. We have different interests, strengths, and ways of looking at problems, but we came together with a simple idea: to build something meaningful and see how far we could take it. For us, iGEM is not just a competition or a research project. It is a chance to sit around the same table, argue about experiments, redesign ideas, interview people, learn unexpected skills, and turn conversations into a real project. We do not expect one student project to change the world, but we believe small things matter. If our work makes one problem clearer, pushes one idea further, or makes someone else curious, it is already worthwhile. Perhaps the biggest change happens to us: we learn that science is not only in laboratories or textbooks, but something people do together.
Our project explores synthetic biology for postharvest preservation by engineering E. coli to produce melatonin. Harvested fruits, vegetables, and flowers remain biologically active and undergo senescence, water loss, stress, and microbial deterioration, causing substantial postharvest loss. We chose cut flowers as a model because their senescence is rapid, visible, and quantifiable through vase life, wilting, and appearance. Melatonin, involved in plant stress responses and senescence regulation, may improve postharvest quality. We engineered E. coli through two generations. Melatonin 1.0 established the heterologous pathway and identified constraints such as precursor availability, hydroxylation cofactors, and competition from native tryptophan metabolism. Melatonin 2.0 redesigned the pathway into a modular multi-gene system, strengthened cofactor synthesis and regeneration, and deleted trpR, tnaA, and yddG to redirect tryptophan flux. We used HPLC to evaluate melatonin production and tested a cell-removed, non-living fermentation product on cut flowers. Cut flowers are not the endpoint, but a model for broader postharvest agriculture, connecting metabolic engineering, microbial fermentation, and supply-chain needs to reduce loss and improve resource efficiency.
Flowers have long carried meanings far beyond decoration in Chinese culture. Plum blossoms symbolize resilience, orchids refinement, chrysanthemums integrity, and peonies prosperity. Flowers appear throughout poetry, painting, festivals, gardens, and gift-giving, acting as carriers of emotion, memory, and symbolism. Yet their beauty is temporary, and their short blooming period has become a recurring theme in Chinese literature and aesthetics, reflecting the tension between appreciating a moment and watching it disappear. Our project connects with this tradition not by reproducing an ancient preservation technique, but by reinterpreting the idea of extending the meaningful life of flowers through modern biotechnology. We engineer microorganisms to produce melatonin and test whether it can delay postharvest senescence in cut flowers, bringing a modern biological perspective to an old human desire: keeping flowers fresh for a little longer. The project also reflects a deeply rooted cultural idea: making full use of resources and avoiding unnecessary waste. Flowers require land, water, energy, transportation, and labor before reaching consumers; when they deteriorate rapidly, much of that investment is lost. By using cut flowers as a model for postharvest agriculture, we explore how synthetic biology might help reduce such losses. For us, culture is not only inherited from the past; it also shapes the questions we ask today. Traditional appreciation of flowers, respect for their seasonal life cycle, and the value placed on using resources carefully provide a cultural lens through which we rethink postharvest preservation with synthetic biology.
We are Team CAU-China from China Agricultural University, composed of 20 members majoring in biology, mathematics, and veterinary medicine, united by the belief that synthetic biology can offer better solutions. This year, we are tackling the problem of food mold—combining rigorous experimental design with compassionate, people-centered human practices. We listen to scientists, farmers, and consumers to ensure our work addresses real-world needs while aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals. Our project, Fungal Sentinel, is a yeast GPCR-based early mold detection biosensor, and we hope it will inspire new ways to safeguard our food, our health, and our future.
The global annual loss of food due to mold is approximately 3%, and China alone loses approximately 42 billion kilograms of grain annually due to mold growth during storage. Mold contamination causes postharvest losses and mycotoxin exposure, threatening food security. Because visual inspection and laboratory tests usually detect contamination only after fungal growth is established, CAU-China 2026 proposes Fungal Sentinel, a yeast-based early-warning platform for sensing fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) before visible mold appears. Using engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a chassis, Fungal Sentinel reconstructs an olfactory sensing pathway by expressing mammalian olfactory receptors that detect mold-associated VOCs such as 1-octen-3-ol. A multi-receptor array improves specificity through VOC fingerprinting, while pathway rewiring with a GPA1/Gaolf chimera and RTP1S enhances signal transmission. VOC exposure triggers mStayGold fluorescence. For deployment, we will integrate stakeholder feedback and develop a low-cost portable fluorescence detector using LED excitation, smartphone imaging, and automated analysis. In the future, additional receptors and machine-learning-assisted pattern recognition could enable fungal species discrimination and broader food safety applications.
Grain, as the foundation for a prosperous and stable country, has always been important throughout history. Beijing has a history of over 800 years as the capital city. To ensure the huge food demand in the capital, emperors across dynasties built networks of granaries, laying the groundwork for food safety insurance and cultivating the grain storage culture. Ancient Chinese people used their wisdom and experiences to skillfully prevent food spoilage. For example, the Lumi granary opens windows on the top and air holes below, keeping the air flowing and the temperature steady, so stored grain can be preserved for a long time without becoming moldy. Although the technology of grain storage keeps advancing, molds are still considered a threat that cannot be ignored for food preservation. Globally, approximately 3% of grain lost is caused directly by mold annually, with China losing 42 billion kg in storage, posing threats to food security and storage monitoring. Molds can also produce poisonous mycotoxins like aflatoxins, ochratoxin, and fumonisin, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. The danger of mold has never been far away from us, but luckily CAU-China 2026 came up with the idea of Fungal Sentinel, a yeast-based early-warning platform designed to sense fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) before visible mold appears. Our project targets the enclosed environment of household small granaries, ensuring the appearance of mold is predictable and lowering the risk of mycotoxins to a minimum. From grain storage culture in ancient times to high technology-based VOC biosensor, Fungal Sentinel carries forward the 800-year-old legacy of Beijing's grain culture into the era of synthetic biology.
We are Team plantSOS, representing The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen in the 2026 iGEM Competition. Composed of 17 students spanning molecular biology, bioinformatics, engineering, and design, we are united by a shared goal: leveraging synthetic biology to solve plant growth problems that are difficult to detect in time. To combat this challenge, we are developing a real-time plant hormone early warning system—an engineered E. coli cell system designed to detect three plant hormones, including SA, JA, and ABA, with fluorescence. By combining rational protein design with rigorous mathematical modeling, our goal is to create a scalable biological solution that operates efficiently under real-world conditions.
Current global climate strategies depend heavily on macro-weather reports and satellite imaging, but these frameworks remain blind to subterranean micro-climate crises in local environments. Climate change destabilizes plants by triggering fluctuations in essential stress hormones, including salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and abscisic acid (ABA). Because regional weather alerts cover broad municipal areas rather than hyper-local realities, individual growers are left decoupled from molecular shifts inside their plants before visible symptoms like wilting appear. To bridge this data gap, we engineered a soil-extract and leaf-fluid biosensor powered by multiple E. coli molecular systems to act as a “ground-up” translator. By analyzing leaf fluid directly, the biosensor detects real-time hormone fluctuations to signal early plant stress. Consultations with home gardeners confirmed the need for hyper-local diagnostic tools, while plant physiology experts guided promoter sensitivity optimization. Feedback from biosecurity policymakers catalyzed a crucial design pivot from live bacterial deployment to a strictly contained, cell-free diagnostic kit. Economic and environmental audits ensured our business model remains affordable and our disposal protocols prevent synthetic DNA contamination in local watersheds. Beyond individual family gardens or small farms, this platform scales into a broader environmental monitoring framework. As non-expert plant lovers collect hyper-local measurements, these decentralized data points aggregate into a real-time, high-resolution network mapping underground conditions and plant health across entire regions. This crowdsourced network bridges the gap between macro-climate data and local realities, empowering everyday growers with actionable molecular insights to save their plants.
In the heart of Shenzhen, Team plantSOS bridges the hyper-speed pulse of technological innovation with the deep, silent rhythms of Lingnan ecology. Guangdong’s identity has long been rooted in a delicate dialogue with nature. For centuries, the rich soil of the Pearl River Delta nurtured an agricultural tradition defined by an acute sensitivity to seasonal shifts and the health of every leaf. Today, Shenzhen stands as an emblem of modern tech. Yet, beneath the city’s concrete canopy, plants battle subterranean micro-climate shifts in real time, suffering silently beneath macro-weather frameworks that miss the immediate reality of the soil. By engineering a biological biosensor to decode plant stress hormones, including salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and abscisic acid, our project mirrors local cultural evolution. It harmonizes the ancient Lingnan reverence for the land with Shenzhen’s modern ethos of high-resolution connectivity. Just as traditional growers once listened to the subtle languages of the earth, our biosensor translates microscopic chemical cues into visible fluorescence, giving voice to the unspoken needs of plants before wilting begins. Furthermore, our project reflects the pioneer spirit of crowdsourced intelligence. As everyday gardeners collect hyper-local plant diagnostics, individual data points aggregate into a broader, living environmental network. In doing so, we weave synthetic biology into the cultural tapestry of modern Guangdong, transforming citizens into stewards of the land, uniting technology with ecology, and ensuring that as our city reaches toward the future, its roots remain deeply connected, protected, and heard.
The HKU iGEM team is an interdisciplinary student initiative proudly representing the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Science, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, and Faculty of Engineering. Over the past decade, our team has consistently demonstrated research excellence on the global stage, earning 4 gold, 7 silver, and 1 bronze medal at the annual iGEM Grand Jamboree. Beyond our competitive track record, we are deeply committed to fostering a collaborative synthetic biology ecosystem. HKU iGEM has played an active role in connecting universities across the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Asia-Pacific Region through annual regional iGEM symposiums, providing a premier platform for knowledge exchange, cross-institutional research sharing, and student mentorship. Driven by a vision to translate synthetic biology into real-world impact, our team combines wet-lab research, bio-hardware development, and local educational outreach—working closely with healthcare experts, secondary schools, and industry partners to address critical local and global challenges.
Our iGEM project addresses the severe physical and psychological burden of chronic wounds, a prevalent issue profoundly diminishing the quality of life for Hong Kong's aging population. These non-healing wounds are characterized by a hostile microenvironment defined by persistent bacterial infection, tissue degradation, and, most critically, severe chronic inflammation. The primary driver of this localized chronic inflammation is the constant release of proinflammatory factors such as TNF-α, IL-6, and COX-2. To reduce the overproduction of these factors, we targeted Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4), which drives their release through the NF-κB signaling pathway. Our objective is to specifically interrupt this cascade—suppressing the overactive chronic response to alleviate suffering while preserving the baseline immune function necessary for natural healing. To achieve this, we are developing a smart hydrogel patch powered by cutting-edge de novo computational protein design. Utilizing deep learning frameworks, we employ RFdiffusion to generate entirely novel structural protein backbones tailored to block TLR4 activation. We then apply ProteinMPNN to assign the precise amino acids for structural stability, followed by AlphaFold3 prediction and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to validate our engineered inhibitors against the target pathway. Once validated, these custom de novo proteins will be integrated into a moisture-retaining hydrogel matrix equipped with a dynamic delivery system. To ensure precision therapy, our design incorporates Nitric Oxide (NO) detection—a key biomarker of the wound's hyperinflammatory gaseous environment. Because release is governed by an NO-responsive mechanism, the therapeutic proteins are deployed only when chronic inflammation is actively detected. By intelligently halting the TLR4-mediated cascade exactly when needed, our smart hydrogel breaks the chronic inflammatory cycle and actively promotes tissue repair.
Hong Kong has inherited a profound tradition of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and folk topical wound-care culture, rooted in its labour-intensive urban history. For centuries, dock workers and local labourers frequently sustained skin abrasions and chronic external injuries. Local grassroots communities widely adopted herbal plasters as gentle topical interventions. Rather than aggressively excising viable yet impaired tissue, classic TCM wound-healing philosophy emphasizes regulating local pathological disturbances, restraining excessive pathogenic responses, and preserving the body's intrinsic regenerative capacity to enable self-repair—a principle known as “supporting healthy Qi to expel pathogenic factors”. Traditional plasters shelter wounds and modulate the local microenvironment, rather than relying on forced debridement. This mild, regenerative philosophy has become a precious local medical heritage. However, conventional herbal plasters fail to treat modern intractable chronic wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers and pressure sores. These wounds are trapped in unremitting hyper-inflammation driven by various overactivated inflammatory signaling pathways, including TLR4/NF-κB signaling, which is the target pathway of our project, and excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes, forming a hostile microenvironment that completely blocks endogenous tissue repair—a critical health challenge for Hong Kong's aging population. Inspired by this localized TCM wisdom, our HKU-Hong Kong team aims to modernize traditional wound-regulating philosophy via synthetic biology. Instead of herbal ingredients, we design de novo peptides to precisely block the TLR4 inflammatory cascade, suppress overwhelming immune responses, and preserve essential baseline immune function. Integrated within an NO-responsive smart hydrogel system, our design intelligently remodels disordered wound microenvironments exactly when chronic inflammation occurs. Our project inherits Hong Kong's traditional medicinal concept of “nurturing wound self-recovery rather than forced intervention”, while integrating it with cutting-edge computational protein design, providing a precise, mild, and effective chronic wound solution for local communities.
We are HUBU-WUHAN, a multidisciplinary team from Hubei University competing in iGEM 2026. Our members come from biology, chemistry, design, and communication backgrounds, united by a shared commitment to addressing environmental challenges through synthetic biology. Since Hubei University first joined iGEM in 2018, we have earned 5 gold and 7 silver medals. Building on this legacy, our 2026 project focuses on developing a whole-cell biosensor for the detection and degradation of naphthalene—a representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that persists in the environment and poses risks to both ecosystems and human health. Our system integrates two functions into one platform: detection via fluorescent signaling, and degradation through engineered metabolic pathways. The result is a portable, low-cost tool that enables on-site screening of naphthalene contamination—transforming “invisible” pollutants into visible, actionable data. Beyond the lab, we engage with communities through science fairs, school workshops, and public events. Our mascot, Shanshan (Sparkle), brings synthetic biology closer to the public. To date, we have hosted multiple educational events reaching hundreds of participants, collaborated with local environmental organizations, and developed open-source educational materials. We believe science belongs not only in journals, but in the hands of those who need it most. Sense the problem. Solve with synbio.
Our project develops a whole-cell biosensor for the detection and degradation of naphthalene, a persistent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that threatens ecosystems and human health. The system integrates two functions into a single platform: detection via fluorescent signaling and degradation through engineered metabolic pathways. This portable, low-cost tool enables on-site screening of naphthalene contamination, transforming “invisible” pollutants into visible, actionable data. By engineering bacteria that both sense and break down naphthalene, we aim to provide a practical solution for monitoring and remediating PAH pollution in water and soil. The project builds on Hubei University’s iGEM legacy and our team’s commitment to addressing environmental challenges through synthetic biology.
Our project is rooted in a deep cultural reverence for water—a value embedded in Chinese civilization for millennia. The Yangtze River, which flows through our campus city of Wuhan, is not merely a waterway; it is the lifeblood of communities, agriculture, and ecosystems across half of China. Yet the very waters that have nurtured generations now face threats from invisible pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Our work draws from this cultural inheritance. The Chinese philosophy of tian ren he yi (unity of heaven and humanity) reminds us that human well-being is inseparable from environmental health. By developing a biosensor that detects and degrades naphthalene, we are not just engineering bacteria—we are restoring a relationship. Our whole-cell sensor acts as a modern-day guardian of the river, offering a low-cost, on-site tool that empowers local communities to monitor their own water quality. In this sense, synthetic biology becomes a bridge between ancient wisdom and contemporary action. We also draw cultural inspiration from the spirit of collective effort. Just as water connects villages, cities, and provinces along the Yangtze, our project connects scientists, educators, local environmental organizations, and community members. Through educational events, school workshops, and open-source materials, we are cultivating a shared responsibility for water protection—a practice as old as the rivers themselves. Ultimately, our project is more than a technical solution. It is a cultural statement: that science, when grounded in care for community and nature, becomes a force for healing. We stand at the confluence of tradition and innovation, using synthetic biology to honor the waters that have sustained life for centuries—and to ensure they continue to do so for generations to come.
Team HunanU 2026 is the iGEM team from Hunan University. It consists of 22 undergraduate students from diverse schools including the College of Biology, the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and the College of Finance and Statistics, together with one high-school student from Yali High School, achieving interdisciplinary integration of knowledge. We are supported by a complete mentoring team. Our two primary Principal Investigators are Professor Haijun Tu and Associate Professor Ye Qiu. Our secondary principal investigators are Honghui Wang and Wei Li. Leveraging multidisciplinary backgrounds, team members collaborate across wet-lab experiments, mathematical modelling, human practices, science popularization, financial administration, and Wiki construction to jointly develop and implement our project NariViva.
NariViva is a living biotherapeutic designed to address vaginal atrophy, dryness, and inflammation associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). By engineering beneficial probiotic bacteria to continuously produce and deliver naringenin locally, NariViva provides anti-inflammatory, mucosa-protective, and microbiome-restoring effects. This approach aims to improve vaginal tissue health, restore microbial balance, alleviate GSM symptoms, and offer a sustainable alternative to conventional hormonal or topical therapies.
In traditional Chinese culture, pomelos bear an inextricable connection with women. The pomelo, historically known as wendan, takes its ancient name from a woman from ancient Fujian who excelled at cultivating fine-quality pomelos with thin rinds and juicy flesh, and the fruit was thus named after her. Within ancient Chinese wedding customs, the pomelo carries the homophonic implication of “blessings for offspring” and symbolizes blessings for descendants and prosperity through many children, conveying well-wishes for the bride. In southern Chinese folk traditions, pomelo leaves serve as a purifying agent commonly used by women to dispel misfortune and pray for blessings. People would boil pomelo-leaf water for bathing during times of misfortune, house-moving, or postpartum recovery to wash away bad luck. Furthermore, during the Mid-Autumn moon-worshipping rituals of antiquity, pomelos stood as an essential altar offering in every household. Female household members presided over the ceremony, praying for auspicious marriage, personal safety, and familial harmony. In the 21st century, alongside rapid advances in life-science technologies, pomelos have acquired additional significance for women beyond culinary use and folk rituals. Naringenin, a bioactive natural dihydroflavone extracted from the white albedo of pomelo peels, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and weak estrogen-like properties. It modulates the female vaginal microenvironment at the molecular level and can be incorporated into topical therapeutic systems for genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), a chronic condition afflicting numerous middle-aged women. Our project proposes a “microecological therapy” strategy based on engineered probiotics. Using lactic acid bacteria as the chassis, we construct metabolic pathways for flavonoid biosynthesis. The engineered strains sustainably synthesize naringenin within the vaginal niche to alleviate GSM-associated symptoms, delivering an innovative synthetic-biology solution for women’s health.
HUST-China is a dedicated team for the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition, relying on the College Student Innovation Base of Life Science and Technology of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), and jointly established by the School of Life Sciences and Qiming College of HUST. Since its formation in 2010, the team has been deeply engaged in the competition for over a decade. It has cumulatively won 1 TOP10 honor, 10 individual best awards and nominations, 8 gold medals and 3 silver medals, and has also claimed the iGEMers' Prize for three consecutive years.
Diancui (kingfisher feather-based structural color craft), a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, is a traditional gold and silver jewelry decorative craft that flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties, using iridescent kingfisher feathers as the core raw material to present a unique permanent blue-green luster. However, this ancient craft now faces a fatal ecological and survival crisis: the core raw material, the kingfisher, has been listed as a protected wild animal in China, with a sharp decline in wild populations and a full ban on commercial trade. The traditional material collection method is not only illegal, but also causes irreversible damage to wild bird populations and the regional ecological chain, completely cutting off the source of natural materials. At the same time, the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage artisans is broken, making this classic craft gradually marginalized. This project does not use any animal-derived materials throughout the process, completely avoiding the ecological damage of traditional crafts. Relying on synthetic biology technology, we build a green sustainable closed loop of “waste – biomanufacturing – Diancui-mimetic materials.” Using waste cotton textiles as raw materials, the project realizes carbon source recovery from waste through enzymatic saccharification. Through the collaboration of four modules: bacterial cellulose synthesis, cellulose nanocrystal self-assembly, and structural protein design and expression, we accurately replicate the structural color characteristics and texture of kingfisher feathers, and create a sustainable Diancui-mimetic material with zero animal harm, mass-producibility, and degradability. We use green technology to solve the ecological dilemma of intangible cultural heritage inheritance, and revive the declining traditional craft.
This project is deeply rooted in the cultural connotation of Diancui (kingfisher feather-based structural color craft), a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, and realizes the inheritance, innovation, and contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese regional culture through synthetic biology. First, it achieves the direct inheritance of cultural genes. Diancui, as a classic decorative craft of the Ming and Qing royal courts, carries the unique aesthetic system of traditional Chinese jewelry and the cultural memory of oriental iridescent aesthetics. The project does not simply replace raw materials, but accurately restores the core aesthetic characteristics and craft logic of Diancui, realizing the living inheritance of this endangered regional cultural symbol, and keeping the cultural context of this ancient craft alive in the contemporary era. Second, it draws methodological inspiration from traditional craft. The hierarchical structure, color rendering logic, and craft aesthetic of traditional Diancui art guide the modular design of our synthetic biology system. The traditional pursuit of “luster without fading” in ancient Chinese crafts also inspires our optimization of structural color stability, forming a two-way integration of traditional craft wisdom and modern biotechnology. Finally, it completes the metaphorical interpretation of traditional ecological philosophy. The project’s zero-animal-harm, green, and sustainable design aligns with the traditional Chinese ecological concept of “harmony between man and nature.” It solves the inheritance dilemma of local intangible cultural heritage with China’s independent synthetic biology technology, which is not only a practice of cultural confidence, but also provides a Chinese solution for the global inheritance of endangered traditional crafts.
HZAU-China is an undergraduate synthetic biology team at Huazhong Agricultural University, with members from different majors. Since first participating in iGEM in 2013, the team has continued to address practical challenges in health, agriculture, and the environment, winning ten iGEM Gold Medals. In 2025, the team received another Gold Medal and two special award nominations: Best New Basic Part and Best Therapeutics Project. In 2026, the team is developing PurrFit, a project focused on feline obesity. It uses engineered gut bacteria and long-acting FGF21 to regulate fat metabolism, supported by a biosafety module and a digital assistant for daily weight management. Through this project, the team aims to explore the application of synthetic biology in companion animal health.
PurrFit is HZAU-China's synthetic biology project for feline obesity. Indoor living, excessive feeding, low activity, and reduced basal metabolism have made obesity common among domestic cats, leading to metabolic dysfunction, limited mobility, and greater cardiopulmonary burden. Existing weight-loss plans often require strict, long-term owner participation, while medication may involve adverse effects or repeated administration. PurrFit combines metabolic regulation, microbial engineering, computational analysis, and daily health management to support controlled and sustained weight management. The treatment module promotes browning of white adipose tissue through endogenous and exogenous FGF21 signaling. Engineered Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron produces bile salt hydrolase (BSH), which converts conjugated bile acids into free bile acids, regulating the bile acid–FXR pathway and increasing endogenous FGF21 production. FGF21 activates the FGFR/β-Klotho receptor complex and increases UCP1 expression in beige adipocytes, allowing more energy to be released as heat. A feline FGF21-ABD fusion protein binds serum albumin, increasing effective molecular size, reducing renal clearance, and prolonging systemic exposure. Molecular docking, conformational sampling, and molecular dynamics simulations evaluate protein stability and receptor accessibility. Targeted delivery uses donor E. coli S17-1λpir to transfer the pME plasmid to B. thetaiotaomicron via the RP4 conjugation system; a megRNA-guided CAST system then integrates the therapeutic payload into a genomic safe-harbor site. Biosafety is ensured by a DCA-responsive BreR–TetR negative-feedback circuit controlling BSH expression, and a nitrogen-dependent GlnA/GlnR–MazE/MazF kill switch for environmental containment. Spatial models and ordinary differential equations estimate donor survival, bacterial distribution, conjugation efficiency, establishment, and final BSH production. A digital assistant records body weight, food intake, and activity, providing personalized diet and exercise plans with scheduled reminders. Through these coordinated modules, PurrFit addresses therapeutic activity, precise delivery, biosafety, quantitative evaluation, and long-term owner participation.
[Not provided]
Our iGEM team is composed of undergraduates majoring in biotechnology and related life sciences at Northeast Forestry University. Through our AAAgri project, we aim to engineer Yarrowia lipolytica to convert waste oils into chrysanthemic acid, thereby developing an environmentally friendly approach to pest management. The team is organized into Wet Lab, Dry Lab, Human Practices and Science Communication, and Wiki and Design groups. The Wet Lab group translates societal needs into experimental work through metabolic engineering and directed evolution. The Dry Lab group conducts AI-assisted protein engineering, metabolic pathway modeling, and data analysis. The Human Practices and Science Communication group visits rural vegetable production bases, interviews experts, and runs outreach activities. The Wiki and Design group documents the project and creates materials for public engagement. With guidance from our PIs, faculty advisors, and external expert consultants, every team member contributes their strengths. Together, we hope to explore sustainable biomanufacturing solutions and advance green pest-management strategies for agriculture and public health.
AAAgri develops an AAA-grade pest control strategy via sustainable biomanufacturing, producing chrysanthemic acid in engineered Yarrowia lipolytica. Our approach centers on three “A” pillars: Accurate—green, relatively specific pyrethrins from chrysanthemic acid enable ecofriendly pest management, block vector-borne disease transmission, and serve as high-demand precursors for public health drugs; Alternative—we upcycle low-value waste lipids as the sole carbon source, converting waste into high-value green pest control compounds; AI-assisted—AI-assisted protein engineering optimizes rate-limiting enzymes in the MVA pathway, boosting pathway efficiency and chrysanthemic acid titers. Long-term, we aim to establish a robust “waste-lipid-to-chrysanthemic-acid” platform for agriculture and public health, while developing a transferable high-DMAPP precursor module for universal isoprenoid biosynthesis.
Our project is deeply rooted in Chinese agricultural civilization and its millennia-long tradition of pest control. From the Book of Songs to Yao Chong’s rational locust campaign, and from the Dao De Jing’s principle of following nature to the ecological balance of traditional farming, Chinese culture has long sought harmony with the natural world. The journey of pyrethrum—from a foreign flower to a cultivated crop in Yunnan, and from flower to molecule—exemplifies this adaptive wisdom. Today, we renew this heritage through synthetic biology, cultivating chrysanthemic acid in Yarrowia lipolytica rather than harvesting flowers. By following the rules of nature and working with them, we transform ancient ecological philosophy into a modern, sustainable solution for pest management. This is not a rejection of tradition, but a continuation of it—using synthetic biology to achieve high efficacy, low toxicity, and biodegradability without disrupting ecosystems.
We are the NNU-CHINA team. Our project explores the sustainable production of indigo dye through synthetic biology, aiming to reduce the environmental footprint of the traditional textile industry.
NNU-CHINA addresses the environmental and health threats of chemical indigo production, which relies on toxic reagents like aniline and hydrocyanic acid. The team engineers E. coli BL21(DE3) to construct a complete indigo biosynthesis pathway, enhancing efficiency and strain stability through CRISPR-associated transposase (CAST) and spatial compartmentalization. This clean route aims to reduce the textile industry's footprint and provide a universal framework for high-value compounds.
Indigo dyeing is a Chinese intangible cultural heritage, represented by Nantong blue calico and traditional tie-dye. Plant-derived indigo is limited by yield and season, while chemical synthesis requires harsh conditions. Biosynthetic indigo, molecularly identical, offers a sustainable raw material compatible with manual dyeing, supporting heritage crafts without farmland. The team integrates this heritage into science outreach, empowering tradition through biotechnology.
Hello everyone! We are iGEMers from Nanjing Normal University. This year, our project focuses on the synthetic-biology-driven design and application of chitosanase. Using synthetic biology approaches, we aim to enhance the catalytic efficiency of chitosanase and optimize the degree-of-polymerization distribution of chitosan oligosaccharides. We are taking action to advance the development of green industry and public health via synthetic biology! Welcome to learn about and follow our project!
Abundant crustacean shell waste poses a significant environmental burden, while efficient biocatalysts for high-value chitooligosaccharide (COS) production remain limited. To address this challenge, we developed ShellEvo, an engineered enzyme system combining chitosanase mining from extreme environments with rational protein engineering to improve catalytic activity and product selectivity. ShellEvo enables efficient enzymatic conversion of shell-derived chitosan into bioactive COS under mild conditions. By reducing chemical reagent consumption and improving product quality, our system provides a sustainable and feasible route for the green valorization of crustacean shell waste and the production of functional oligosaccharides.
Medicinal-edible homology underpins China's great health culture. Chitosan oligosaccharide possesses multiple bioactivities including antioxidant capacity and immunomodulation, and is widely applied in health-food products and agricultural biological agents. Traditional Chinese culture advocates the concepts of medicinal-edible homology and preventive treatment of diseases. Instead of aggressive therapies, it prioritizes daily health maintenance and physical conditioning. Our chitosan oligosaccharide products are developed for health preservation, which aligns with the traditional health philosophy of "preventive treatment of diseases." Ancient Chinese materia-medica classics document the medicinal use of crustaceans such as crabs and shrimps. We adopt biotechnologies to further explore the modern-day value of these traditional resources.
SHSBNU-China is a high school iGEM team from the International Division of the Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. Since first participating in iGEM in 2017, we have explored diverse challenges through synthetic biology, from environmental protection and healthcare to biomaterials and space exploration. Over the years, our team has consistently received Gold Medals, while continuously building upon the experience and ideas of previous generations. In 2021, SHSBNU-China achieved a Top 5 ranking among high school teams worldwide and received six Special Award nominations, marking one of the milestones in our iGEM journey. In 2022–2025, our projects continued to explore new frontiers, including anthocyanin production, titin-inspired biomaterials, microbial synthesis of L-theanine, and protein-based materials for space exploration. In 2026, we turn our attention to a challenge close to everyday life: how can we enjoy sweetness without relying on excessive sugar? With BLISS, we explore brazzein as a natural sweet protein and use synthetic biology to develop a more accessible, sustainable, and health-conscious alternative to conventional sweeteners. From one generation to the next, we keep asking new questions, building on what came before, and exploring how synthetic biology can create a better future.
BLISS: Bioengineered Low-calorie Innovative Sweetener Synthesis addresses excessive sugar consumption, a major challenge for modern diets that increases demand for sweeteners providing satisfying sweetness with reduced sugar intake. Developing alternatives that combine high sweetness, pleasant taste, stability, affordability, and sustainable production remains difficult. Our project explores brazzein, a naturally occurring sweet protein derived from Pentadiplandra brazzeana, as a promising alternative to conventional sugar-based sweeteners. We focus on developing an efficient microbial production system for brazzein while exploring strategies to improve its performance. We designed brazzein expression constructs using synthetic biology and investigated recombinant production in Escherichia coli. Different fusion strategies were compared to improve protein expression and purification. Through experimental characterization, including protein concentration analysis and SDS-PAGE, we evaluated the performance of our constructs and identified differences between expression strategies, providing a foundation for further optimization. Beyond production, we investigate how protein engineering and computational analysis can contribute to improving brazzein. By examining structural features associated with protein stability and sweetness, we explore potential mutation sites and design strategies for future variants. Our modeling work connects molecular-level structural information with experimental engineering, creating an iterative process in which computational predictions guide experimental design and experimental results inform subsequent optimization. BLISS also extends beyond the laboratory. Through Human Practices, we engage with consumers, scientists, food-related professionals, and regulatory stakeholders to understand expectations surrounding sweeteners, including safety, functionality, sustainability, industrial feasibility, and the meaning of “natural” in biotechnology-produced foods. These perspectives help us evaluate whether our scientific solution can address real-world needs rather than remaining only a laboratory concept. Education is another central part of our project. Through PrintScope, our portable educational microscope, we aim to lower the barrier to observing the microscopic world and connect hands-on observation with synthetic biology. We developed an inquiry-based learning pathway that encourages students to Search, Capture, Observe, Predict, and Explore, transforming microscopy from simple observation into a process of scientific inquiry. Ultimately, BLISS is not only an attempt to produce a sweet protein. It is an exploration of how synthetic biology, protein engineering, computational design, Human Practices, and education can work together to rethink sweetness. By developing a potentially more accessible and sustainable route to brazzein, we hope to contribute to a future in which reducing sugar does not mean giving up the experience of sweetness.
[Not provided]
SUSTech-BIO 2026 is the undergraduate iGEM team of the School of Life Sciences at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). The team brings together students from diverse disciplines—Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Bioinformatics, Statistics, Computer Science, Clinical Medicine, and Media—working at the intersection of multiple fields. Under the guidance of four PIs, Zefeng Wang, Fuxing Zeng, Min Zhang, and Jacky Yuen, the team focuses its research on RNA editing for Alzheimer's disease. From target screening and editor design to in vitro validation, the entire workflow is driven independently by undergraduate team members. The group collaborates closely across wet lab, dry lab, human practices, and visual design, with each member contributing their unique strengths. Notably, SUSTech-BIO achieved remarkable success at last year's iGEM Grand Jamboree, winning a Gold Medal and ranking among the Top 10 Undergraduate teams worldwide for the first time. The team also claimed first place globally in Best Entrepreneurship and Inclusivity Award, along with nominations for Best Model, Best Wiki, and Best Presentation, laying a solid methodological foundation for this year's project. Departing from Shenzhen—China's "City of Innovation"—the team carries SUSTech's pioneering and cross-disciplinary spirit into the synthetic biology arena.
Alzheimer's disease affects millions of families worldwide, but current treatments still cannot fully address its underlying causes. One major genetic risk factor is APOE4, a version of a gene that can greatly increase a person's chance of developing the disease. Our project, ORCA, explores a therapeutic RNA editing strategy to temporarily edit specific base(s) in APOE4 mRNA, aiming to shift the disease-associated APOE4 protein product toward a safer APOE3-like form, without permanently changing the patient's DNA. We will combine wet-lab experiments with computational modeling to optimize the editor's structure, predict possible off-target effects, and guide delivery design, while adding control modules so the system can work more efficiently and specifically in disease-relevant cells. While ORCA is designed with Alzheimer's therapy in mind, it may also provide a modular RNA editing framework for future biomedical research.
Suzhou classical gardens are more than carefully arranged landscapes; they are vessels of human memory. Through elements such as rocks, water, corridors, and framed views, garden designers transformed personal experiences, emotions, and philosophies into a physical space that could be preserved across generations. This idea resonates deeply with our project, ORCA, which aims to intervene in Alzheimer's disease through RNA editing. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the progressive loss of memories and cognitive functions, gradually disrupting an individual's connection with their own experiences. By correcting disease-associated RNA messages before they become proteins, ORCA explores a new possibility: preserving biological information at an earlier stage. Our project name, ORCA, is inspired by the orca whale. In nature, orcas are known for their complex social structures and intergenerational knowledge transmission. Older individuals, especially matriarchs, play an important role in guiding their groups by passing down information about migration routes and survival strategies. This creates a meaningful connection among three forms of memory: gardens preserve cultural memory, orcas preserve ecological memory, and the human brain preserves personal memory. RNA editing reflects a similar philosophy of reinterpretation. Instead of changing the original DNA blueprint, RNA editing modifies temporary molecular messages, allowing the same genetic information to produce different outcomes. Much like the concept of "changing scenery with every step" (yibu huanjing) in Suzhou gardens, where the same landscape reveals different perspectives from different positions, RNA editing allows a biological message to be refined and redirected without altering the underlying genetic identity. Through ORCA, we hope to connect traditional wisdom with emerging biotechnology: using modern molecular tools to protect one of humanity's most precious forms of memory.
SUSTech-MED is an interdisciplinary iGEM team supported by the School of Medicine at SUSTech, competing since 2016 and independently established in 2023. Uniting students across clinical medicine, biomedical science, biomedical engineering, computer science, and statistics, the team integrates clinical needs with dry/wet lab research, data modeling, and Human Practices, earning multiple iGEM Gold Medals. Moving forward, SUSTech-MED continues to leverage its medicine-engineering-science synergy to address global health challenges through synthetic biology.
SUSTech-MED focuses on the frontier of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) intervention. Our team innovatively utilizes Lactobacillus plantarum L168 as a synthetic biology chassis, engineered to biosynthesize functional molecules—Sulforaphane (SFN) and N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)—while incorporating metabolic pathways to efficiently degrade glutamine and convert neurotoxic brain ammonia into branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). Delivered via a non-invasive intranasal route to bypass the blood-brain barrier, our system precisely targets the neural microenvironment. By synergistically mitigating ammonia toxicity, modulating neuroinflammation, and alleviating oxidative stress, this platform reshapes the neural microenvironment to relieve core ASD symptoms, pioneering a novel, non-invasive, and promising synthetic biology paradigm for autism care.
Our project takes the Chinese white dolphin—an iconic ecological symbol of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—as its visual emblem and spiritual anchor. Often described as the “giant panda of the sea,” this rare species is known for its remarkable sensitivity, distinctive patterns of social communication, and strong dependence on a clean and stable environment. These characteristics resonate with the inner world of individuals with autism: pure and sensitive, yet sometimes challenged by difficulties in communication and social integration associated with imbalances in the neural microenvironment. Our project introduces an innovative, non-invasive intranasal delivery strategy. The dolphin's graceful ability to move freely through the water and overcome barriers symbolizes our approach of delivering therapeutic molecules directly to the brain through the nose-to-brain pathway, thereby bypassing the blood-brain barrier. Through the coordinated regulation of multiple biological pathways, we aim to restore balance within the brain microenvironment and gently support individuals seeking to overcome barriers and rebuild social connections. In this way, our project integrates cutting-edge synthetic biology with a deep commitment to humanistic care and respect for the dignity of individuals with autism.
TJUSLS-China is the iGEM team from the School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University. Its undergraduate members come from multiple disciplines, including the School of Life Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Science, and School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering. Team roles are divided into five working groups: Experimental Group, Modelling Group, HP Group, Art Group, and Wiki Group. Supported by the on-campus laboratory platform of Professor Wang Zefang's research group, the team has long focused on the mining and engineering of plastic-degrading enzymes. Under the technical supervision of principal investigators Wang Zefang and Xiao Yunjie, we have accomplished metagenomic enzyme mining, rational protein engineering, and enzyme-activity validation. Attaching great importance to industry-academia-research collaboration and public science outreach, we iterate project designs through expert and enterprise surveys. We independently develop IP characters, board games, science courses, and short-video series, extending laboratory-based research into social science-popularization practice, and commit to solving real-world solid-waste environmental problems with synthetic biology.
TJUSLS-China 2026 iGEM project PUReCycle focuses on the biodegradation and resource-oriented recycling of MDI-based polyether polyurethane solid waste. This cross-linked polymer is recalcitrant under natural conditions, while landfilling and incineration bring severe pollution, and available biodegrading enzyme resources remain extremely scarce. Relying on metagenomic databases, our project conducts computational enzyme mining via sequence screening, structure prediction, and molecular docking. We perform heterologous expression, protein purification, and enzyme-activity assays in E. coli, carry out rational engineering of AbPURase, and discover brand-new PUC-series degrading enzymes. Mutants with enhanced activity have been screened out, providing a biological solution for polyurethane solid-waste treatment.
The TJUSLS-China 2026 iGEM PUReCycle project establishes multidimensional connections between polyurethane biodegradation research and traditional Chinese ecological philosophy. In terms of direct inheritance, our project draws inspiration from age-old Chinese ecological wisdom spanning Taoist philosophy and ancient agronomic practices. The Taoist classic Tao Te Ching records the idea “constantly good at rescuing things, leaving no discarded objects,” which advocates making full use of materials instead of reckless disposal. Ancient agricultural text Qi Min Yao Shu also describes circular-resource practices that turned crop residues and organic waste into fertilizer, realizing the concept of “turning waste into treasure” in real-world production. Rooted in such heritage, the ancient Chinese idea of utilizing waste to create new value guides our experimental objectives. Rather than adopting polluting incineration or landfilling for MDI-based polyether polyurethane waste—approaches generating toxic by-products and accumulating recalcitrant microplastics in soil and groundwater—our project puts circular-economy thinking into molecular-level lab practice. Inspired by traditional circular logic, we explore biological routes to rebuild material cycles for non-degradable polymer waste. We conduct genome-scale computational mining of metagenomic data, construct recombinant plasmids, achieve heterologous expression in E. coli BL21(DE3), and purify candidate PURase enzymes including AbPURase and PUC-series variants via Ni-affinity chromatography. These efforts enable biological depolymerization of tough polyurethane polymers into degradable small fragments. Our wet-lab work translates the ancient “turning waste into treasure” philosophy into practical synthetic-biology workflows for plastic waste treatment, delivering a biological alternative for persistent polyurethane waste disposal.
TEMPO is the iGEM 2026 team from the University of Science and Technology of China. We are a group of students with diverse academic backgrounds and complementary skills, united by a shared curiosity about how biological systems can be designed to keep time. Many of us joined iGEM as first-year students, while others came aboard as second-year students already carrying prior experience. As the project progressed, the first-years stepped into their second year, and the second-years moved into their third—not only advancing in academic standing, but also growing in skills, responsibilities, and our collective understanding of synthetic biology. Time changed our grades. More importantly, it changed what we were capable of doing. Our team is built primarily around biology, with members bringing biological knowledge, experimental design expertise, and molecular biology skills to the bench. Alongside them, students from chemistry contribute a molecular perspective and chemical understanding that enriches how we approach our system. Students from automation bring an engineering mindset to the team. They help us think about biological networks not only as biochemical pathways, but as systems that can be designed, controlled, and programmed—a perspective that connects naturally to TEMPO’s programmable oscillator and binary counter. Within TEMPO, we organize our work across five groups: Experimental Team, Modeling Team, Human Practices Team, Visual Design Team, and Website Team. Although we work in different groups, our work is never isolated. We are not five separate groups working under one name. We are one team, speaking the languages of biology, chemistry, engineering, modeling, design, and society, working together to build something none of us could build alone.
TEMPO is a modular synthetic timing system composed of three functional layers: an oscillator, a binary counter, and an effector, corresponding to a biological clock, memory, and actuator. The oscillator generates periodic molecular pulses that define discrete units of biological time. These pulses are converted into integrate expression signals and transmitted to the downstream counter. Instead of measuring absolute hours directly, TEMPO counts repeated oscillator cycles, allowing elapsed time to be encoded into stable DNA states. At the core of the system is an expandable integrate-RDF-based binary counter. Each input pulse triggers reversible site-specific DNA recombination, switching an individual bit between two genetic states. By cascading multiple switches, the system can progress through binary states such as 000, 001, 010, 011, and 100, enabling scalable pulse counting and long-term genetic memory. Once a predefined state is reached, a state-specific promoter activates an effector module, enabling functions such as timed protein expression or programmed cell elimination. Mathematical modeling serves as a central bridge between these modules. We characterized oscillator period, amplitude, and recombine output, and directly coupled the simulated oscillator waveform to the binary counter to test whether realistic pulses could reliably drive DNA-state transitions. For the single-bit counter, parameter screening was used to optimize repressor-promoter strength, assess the need for degradation tags, and guide experimental construction. We further compared two multi-bit carry strategies—a feed-forward pulse-based cascade and a free-recombine-mediated cascade—to evaluate scalability. Finally, global sensitivity analysis identified the parameters that most strongly influence oscillation period, switching efficiency, and overall robustness. Modeling also revealed a potential limitation in expression termination, motivating an additional control module for more precise timing. Together, TEMPO transforms time from a passive biological variable into an engineeringable input, providing a quantitative and modular framework for autonomous gene expression, biocontainment, biosensing, and programmable therapeutic systems.
TEMPO’s design also echoes a long tradition of understanding time through cycles rather than absolute numerical measurements. In traditional Chinese culture, time was historically organized through recurring natural rhythms. The twelve Shichen divided a day according to the periodic movement of the Sun, while traditional calendars combined lunar cycles, seasonal changes, and the Twenty-Four Solar Terms to coordinate agriculture and everyday life. Instead of treating time as an abstract number, these systems interpreted time through repeated observable events: sunrise and sunset, seasonal transitions, plant growth, temperature changes, and celestial motion. TEMPO follows a surprisingly similar logic at the cellular scale. Rather than giving a cell an external clock or asking it to directly measure “seven hours” or “twenty-four hours,” TEMPO creates an internal biological rhythm. Each oscillator cycle becomes a discrete unit of time, analogous to the repeated natural phenomena used in traditional timekeeping. The binary counter then records how many cycles have occurred, converting transient rhythms into persistent genetic memory. When a predefined number of cycles has passed, the cell performs a programmed action. This creates a conceptual correspondence: natural cycle → time unit → accumulated record → scheduled activity becomes oscillation → molecular pulse → genetic count → biological action. This cultural connection is therefore not a direct reproduction of an ancient technology, but a methodological inspiration. Both traditional Chinese timekeeping and TEMPO understand time through periodic processes and use accumulated cycles to determine when an event should occur. From agricultural calendars that guided sowing and harvesting to synthetic circuits that determine when a cell expresses a protein or terminates itself, the underlying idea remains similar: time becomes meaningful when rhythm can be observed, remembered, and translated into action. TEMPO therefore offers a modern synthetic-biology interpretation of an ancient human idea—using cycles to give structure to time.
[Not provided]
Addressing the critical clinical need for early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), the ZJUT-China team has developed a novel non-invasive screening system based on synthetic biology. This project employs engineered probiotics that are genetically modified to integrate multiple functional modules, including gut colonization, signal sensing of disease biomarkers, and chromogenic reporting. Upon encountering specific CRC-associated molecular signals in the intestinal environment, these probiotics undergo a programmed response that produces a visible color change, enabling straightforward detection without the need for complex instrumentation or invasive procedures. Compared with conventional invasive screening methods such as colonoscopy, this system offers significant advantages: it is simple to operate, low in cost, and highly acceptable to the general population, thereby greatly improving patient compliance. The ultimate goal is to provide a convenient and economical alternative for early CRC detection, which can facilitate timely intervention and treatment. By making routine screening more accessible and less burdensome, this approach has the potential to substantially increase early diagnosis rates, improve patient survival outcomes, and reduce the overall socioeconomic burden of colorectal cancer on healthcare systems.
In Zhejiang, pickled vegetables, raw marinated seafood, and dried preserved mustard greens are everyday staples, cherished for their distinctive salty umami. Yet this deeply rooted culinary tradition, characterized by high salt, high fat, and very low dietary fiber, has silently contributed to one of China's highest colorectal cancer rates. According to local health data, the incidence is climbing by over 2% annually, with more than 23,000 new cases diagnosed each year—a stark reminder that even beloved customs can carry hidden health costs. The ancient Chinese philosophy of "preventing disease before it arises" (治未病), a cornerstone of traditional medicine, inspires our approach. Rather than waiting for symptoms to appear, G-SCOUT embodies this proactive wisdom by turning a harmless probiotic—E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN)—into a living sentinel inside the human gut. Much like our ancestors used natural indicators to detect spoilage in food, our engineered bacteria are designed to sense two early danger signals tightly linked to colorectal cancer initiation: the co-aggregation of Fusobacterium nucleatum with other Gram-negative pathogens, and abnormally elevated ethanolamine levels. When either signal is detected, the EcN produces a visible, colored pigment that is excreted into the stool—enabling users to spot potential high-risk adenomas long before any discomfort arises, when the five-year survival rate exceeds 99%, compared to just 15% at late stage. Critically, G-SCOUT is not a rejection of regional food culture. Instead, it offers a scientific compromise—preserving culinary heritage while mitigating its health consequences. It directly addresses those who lack access to routine medical checkups: remote farmers in impoverished areas, migrant workers moving between cities, and busy white-collar employees without sufficient insurance or time. By transforming costly, invasive colonoscopy into an affordable, user-friendly home test, we democratize early screening and honour the traditional value of prevention. This is how we fuse ancient insight with modern biotechnology—not to erase culture, but to protect the lives that live within it.
