Team:ZJU-China

  • Termites are recognized as the 5th pest around the world, based on its astonishing number and incredible damage towards wood. Owing to their wood-eating habits, termites are terminators of crops, trees, buildings, river dams；and spoil people’s life. ZJU-CHINA 2015 has created TERMITE TERMINATOR, a genetically modified toxins expression system with a delivery carrier CNC (cellulose nanocrystals), capable of exterminate whole nest of termites based on their trophallaxis in an indoor designed device.
  • To prevent the bacteria from being released into environment or simply being degraded without completing its mission, and to reduce termites’ resistance towards toxins; we designed bacteria carriers self-assembled from the generated cellulose nanocrystals (CNC).
  • We are always exploring a more convenient and intuitive new way to promote synthetic biology and iGEM projects better to the broader public. So, this time we have created Poly Cards, a new public education tool to communicate synthetic biology and iGEM projects. The cards have been successfully incorporated biobricks and iGEM projects. For better practice of Poly Cards, cooperating with Zhejiang China Association for Science and Technology, we held a Syn-bio Share.

INTRODUCTION

Why we choose termites?

Termites are widely recognized as the 5th pest around the world, based on its astonishing number and incredible damage towards wood. Given that a termite weighed 1 gram, then everyone should own 500 thousand termites! Owing to their wood-eating habits, termites are terminators of crops, trees, buildings, river dams； and more often, spoil people’s life.

Our new system of termite terminator

IGEM ZJU-CHINA 2015 has created TERMITE TERMINATOR, a genetically modified toxins expression system with a delivery carrier CNC (cellulose nanocrystals), capable of trapping termites based on their trophallaxis.

Results and Application

We have successfully overexpressed avermectins in streptomyces avermitilis and achieved toxins manufacture in E.coli to kill termites. To trap effectively, we prepared cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), and generated the nanofibrous microspheres self‐assembled from CNC as bacteria carriers. Additionally, a device has been designed. With the help of modeling, preliminary experience of the device has been made to prove its effect.

For better

  • For better application effect

    We are termite terminator. Our completed models aim at product manufacturing and devices placing , which play a part in application . With artificial intelligence group simulation(Model 1) , customers obtain the optimal bait location . With the Physicochemistry process (Model 2 and model 3) we present , Manufacturers can control their production accurately by adjusting key factors .

  • For better use in the future

    Based on current references, ZJU-CHINA 2015 designed the indoor device to achieve monitor, trap, and terminate termites successfully.Focusing on the potential wider impacts of our application, a series of warnings have been added to the Instruction Manual can be proposed. In the commercial part, we made the promotion part to smooth future consumers' acceptance of our product.

  • For better promotion

    We have made a systematic structure for human practice activities. Our human practice work can be divided into four parts-----Society, Application, Public Promotion and Collaboration. For better promotion of synthetic biology and our project, we designed an efficient multifunctional tool for the promotion of synthetic biology-------Poly Cards! We got wonderful feedbacks to our human practice activities from the public. See our Outreach web to know more information!

  • For better project and scenarios

    IGEM is not only a scientific competition. Since we are casting the synthetic biology on the real world problem, it forces us to consider about the ethical, legal, religious and social problems. Thus we collaborate with Synenergene, who aims at fostering responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology. The writing process of application scenarios and techno-moral vignettes prompts us to ground the plausibility and desirability of applications envisaged in our iGEM project.




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