Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On August 6, the final of the international competition SynBio Challenge was held in Shenzhen (Guangdong Province, China). The team Faculty of Natural Sciences (FNS) of NSU GeneMeow won a gold medal in the Synthetic Cell category. The team solved the problem of developing a DNA sequence no longer than 140 bp, which ensures high expression of the green fluorescent protein. Two more teams from Russia, representing Moscow State University and Pirogov University, became winners in the Protein Design track.
The GeneMeow team included six students of the NSU Natural Sciences Department who completed their 3rd year in the Biology program: Valeria Romanova, Ekaterina Bolotova, Nail Bikeev, Nikita Ivanov, Ulyana Borovikova and Dmitry Kurbatsky. GeneMeow was formed from two strong teams that had previously participated in the Biotournament and achieved high results.
Nail Bikeev, a member of the NSU GeneMeow team, spoke about preparation and participation in the competition:
— We learned about the competition in May and spent a long time choosing the track we wanted to participate in. The Synthetic cell track seemed to us to be a more interesting and challenging task. We needed to create a DNA sequence that could increase the yield of the target protein, in our case, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), which glows a beautiful green color. In a short time, we had to develop a concept for the sequence, review many articles on the topic, highlight the necessary ones, and check the functionality of the design using bioinformatics methods. The trip to China and the presentation of the work at the international level was the best motivation, since we managed to assemble our sequence and send it! At the Olympiad, we met many guys from other countries: Japan, Thailand, and, of course, China, and also met colleagues from Moscow State University and the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University. Such events are very inspiring, showing how many like-minded people there are all over the world.
The final was held in the format of a festival, where each team presented their solutions to the problems at the selection stage. In addition, the organizers of the competition synthesized the DNA sequences proposed by the participants, inserted them into plasmids with a gene of a fluorescent protein, which is used to check the DNA sequence, and during the festival visualized the synthesized sequences, compared which team's glowed brighter. The brightness of the glow became one of the criteria for assessing the work of each team.
Sergey Sedykh, PhD, Senior Lecturer Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies NSU, a judge for the SynBio Challenge, commented:
— It was the first time I was a judge at such an international event. The Russian teams showed themselves very well. Our guys from NSU demonstrated that the field of synthetic biology and life sciences in general is actively developing at Novosibirsk University, both at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and at the Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies, where a new Master's program "Industrial Pharmacy". I have no doubt that next year the team from Novosibirsk will include students of this new program. Our guys have confirmed by their own example that the NSU motto "We will not make you smarter, we will teach you to think" works at the international level as well.
The competition is organized by Shenzhen University of High Technology. A total of 1,800 students registered to participate in the competition this year, of which about 1,000 participants from six countries — China, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia — reached the finals.
The participation of the NSU team in the international competition was financed within the framework of the academic mobility project of the Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies of NSU Priority 2030 programs.
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