iGEM

iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) is an international annual competition in which multidisciplinary student teams are using the latest Synthetic Biology techniques to build a biological machine. The students conceive, design and build a bacteria with a useful and/or interesting application.

This year there are more than 400 teams from universities around the world who participate in the contest. Teams present their results at the Grand Jamboree in Paris and compete for the world title. Each year, a team from the University of Groningen participates to showcase that the Faculty of Science and Engineering ranks among the best in the world.

Students are enthusiastically supported by several research groups within the university. In 2012, the Groningen team even became world champion!

iGEM Team Groningen 2025: CRIKIT

From the 28th to the 31st of October, the 21st edition of the iGEM competition will take place in Paris, France. This year, the Groningen team is developing CRIKIT: a low-cost, CRISPR-based diagnostic kit to rapidly detect antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat, but testing for it often requires expensive laboratory equipment and takes valuable time. Our system uses Cas13 proteins and programmable guide RNAs to recognise specific bacterial mRNA transcripts from resistance genes. Once detected, the system produces a fluorescent signal via a fluorescent reporter. By placing different guide RNAs in a standard 96-well plate, we can screen for many resistance genes at once. To make the results easy to interpret, we are developing a user-friendly web tool that instantly analyses the data and displays the resistance profile.

Competing alongside 420+ teams from all around the world, we aim to demonstrate that the Faculty of Science and Engineering continues to stand among the best in the world, by combining biology, engineering, and innovation to tackle one of today’s most urgent medical challenges.

iGEM team of Groningen 2015: Blue Bio-energy

The Groningen iGEM team from last year could also count on the support of fellow students and alumni. Through the crowdfunding site www.rugsteunt.nl the team raised € 1890, - for the costs which where not covered by the faculty. The team developed a special membrane for the generation of 'blue energy'. This energy is generated by the 'clash' of salt and sweet water. The biggest problem with the current technique is the use of plastic membranes (a sort of filters) to create blue energy. These are expensive and easily damaged. The iGEM team used bacteria to design a living membrane that can be used as a filter and which is able to repair itself in case of damage. In the movie below, the team explains their project a bit more.