The Valencia/Biocampus students team, led by Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology of the University of Valencia researcher Manel Porcar, participated this weekend in Lyon in the European phase of synthetic biology competition iGEM 2013 (International Genetically Engineered Machine) and won a gold medal with his project WORMBOYS .
Thus, these young scientists are classified to participate in the final phase of this competition, driven by the Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT), which will be held in Boston the first weekend of November and involved 73 teams from around the world of the four regional phases.
The Valencia/Biocampus team, funded by the University of Valencia and the company Biópolis SL, submitted to a research to iGEM that established an artificial symbiotic relationship between bacteria and worms, which improve biotechnological processes and facilitate the production of bioplastics.
After getting their qualification to Boston, Porcar explained that the Valencia/Biocampus team received “emphatic congratulations by many judges who have recognized the soundness of the project”. "It was a very hard, but very rewarding experience because we have struggled against teams with a huge economic power and, in the end, we have qualified, along with Europe's elite". In fact, English and German groups were much more numerous and had a higher economic support.
Some of the participating students expressed their satisfaction and emphasized: "We are among 30 % of the best!", as Guillermo Zafrilla celebrates. And adds: "We are proud, since from Spain, where all we have are bad news lately, we can do this...",in the words of Samuel Miravet.
For her part, the Vice-Principal for Sustainability, Campus and Planning, Clara Martinez, has expressed great satisfaction with the results obtained by these young scientists and stressed that this year, for the first time, the València/Biocampus project "has been funded by public and private funds from the University of Valencia and Biopolis SL, biotech company of the Science Park of the University of Valencia, thanks to a recently signed partnership agreement to promote scientific vocations. This great result reaffirms our support and promotion to such collaborative programs of excellence in teaching."
In addition, the initiative is also supported by the consortium VLC/CAMPUS Valencia International Campus of Excellence, the European project of synthetic biology ST -Flow, led by the University of Valencia researcher Andrés Moya, the School of Engineering (ETSE -UV), the Chair for Scientific Dissemination of the University of Valencia and the Prinicpal Peset Hall of Residence.
The WORMBOYS project tries to combine all the best of bacteria and viruses with the aim of establishing an artificial symbiosis between them, which may have biotechnological applications. Because, as Porcar explains “bacteria are capable of a wide range of biotechnological applications, but have a very limited mobility, while the worms, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, are not employed in biotechnology, but are able to move at a remarkable speed”.
Young researchers have proved that genetically modified bacteria are capable of forming a biofilm over the worm and move so swiftly on the nematode (hence the name wormboys, an analogy with cowboys). On the other hand, it have also been modified the bacteria which worm feeds and, through a mechanism of RNA interference, make the worm modify their behaviour and grouped with other worms.
The Valencia / Biocampus team has demonstrate that it is possible “ride up the worms, and wormboys bacteria move to places of interest, where other bacteria , being eaten by worms, will force them to settle in groups and allow wormboys bacteria to carry out a biotechnology activity of interest, in this case, bioplastic production” argues Manel Porcar .
Project website :
http://2013.igem.org/Team:Valencia_Biocampus
Last update: 10 de october de 2013 10:45.
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