The team Évry Paris-Saclay won a gold medal during the 2024 edition of the iGEM international synthetic biology competitiona world-renowned synthetic biology competition, thanks to its project “PHAGEVO”. He is also nominated for the “Best fundamental advancement project”allowing the team to climb into the Top 10 best graduate teams[1]”, and to stand out among more than 400 teams in competition.
Promoting synthetic biology
This year, the team, made up of 13 students of bachelor’s, master’s and engineering schools, supervised by two doctoral students and directed by Ioana Popesculecturer and team leader since 2017, competed in the “Foundational Advance”.
“The team has been working on this project since last January and it is a unique opportunity for our students to apply the skills acquired during their studies in an international setting”, said Ioana Popescu.
This participation in iGEM is a continuation of the initiatives of the University of Évry Paris-Saclay and the Genopole pour promote synthetic biologya booming field. It also confirms their commitment to training future experts in the sector, while strengthening their position on the international scene.
The Genopole Évry Paris-Saclay team has already won seven gold medals
Their project focuses on directed protein evolution, a technology aimed at optimizing genetic mutations to improve the efficiency of proteins. Thanks to two complementary methods, the team uses mutation techniques both random and targeted, in order to select the best mutations, while eliminating those which are deleterious. The chosen proteinXylSis capable of detecting certain derivatives of benzoic acid, resulting from the degradation of hydrocarbons. The ultimate goal: to create mutants capable of detecting other compounds, particularly those resulting from the degradation of plastics, in order to potentially develop enzymes capable of degrading these materials.
“We aim to develop innovative technologies while strengthening the visibility of the university in the field of synthetic biology. If the results continue to be promising, we plan to publish our work. The goal is always to have a concrete scientific impact and allow students to participate in valuable research”she added.
The Genopole Évry Paris-Saclay team is not at its first medal: it won a gold medal every year since 2017as well as the “Best Hardware” award in 2023. This year, she competed for the “Modeling”, “Software” and “Parts Collection” categories, in line with her progress on the current project.
[1] Overgraduate refers to student teams where at least one member is over the age of 23.
