Over the past 2 decades, the iGEM Competition has provided a platform to catalyze the infusion of synthetic biology with interdisciplinary fundamental and translational research, as well as inspiring young scientists from all around the world to solve local problems.
More than 70,000 individuals from 46 countries have built over 3600 projects using the tool of synthetic biology to solve local challenges and advance the field.
Many of the projects undertaken by iGEM teams have gone on to be published in academic journals. Read iGEM Comes of Age: Trends in its research output paper.
2018 Eindhoven – ACS Synthetic Biology
Engineered Living Materials Based on Adhesin-Mediated Trapping of Programmable Cells
2018 Imperial – The Biochemist
Students go through the gears at the iGEM competition for engineering biology
2012 Cornell – Nature Scientific Reports
Identification of a natural ligand of the hazel allergen Cor a 1
2013 Stanford-Brown – Scientifc Reports
Construction and characterization of metal ion-containing DNA nanowires for synthetic biology and nanotechnology
2016 CLSB UK – Scientific Reports
Gene silencing based on RNA-guided catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9): a new tool for genetic engineering in Leptospira
2018 Imperial – Science Advances
Synthetic biology and bioelectrochemical tools for electrogenetic system engineering
2019 SMMU China – Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research
The roles of small extracellular vesicles in cancer and immune regulation and translational potential in cancer therapy
2016 Peking – Methods
Paired dCas9 design as a nucleic acid detection platform for pathogenic strains
2021 Tel Aviv – Biology
Modulating Gene Expression within a Microbiome Based on Computational Models
2021 NEFU-China – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
Directed evolution of the PobR allosteric transcription factor to generate a biosensor for 4-hydroxymandelic acid
2006 Imperial – IET Synthetic Biology
Engineering a molecular predation oscillator
2006 Mississippi – IET Synthetic Biology
Hydrogen detector testing and design using synthetic biology and fluorescence photo analysis
2007 Glasgow – Systems and Synthetic Biology
Engineering a novel self-powering electrochemical biosensor
2007 Harvard – Journal of Moledcular Biology and BIology Education
Research, collaboration, and open science using Web 2.0
2007 Peking – Molecular Systems Biology
Synthesizing a novel genetic sequential logic circuit: a push-on push-off switch
2008 TUDelft, Bristol, Naples – Automatica
Analysis, design and implementation of a novel scheme for in-vivo control of synthetic gene regulatory networks
2009 PKU_Beijing – Nature Communication
Programming a Pavlovian-like conditioning circuit in Escherichia coli
2010 Harvard – Journal of Biological Engineering
A BioBrick compatible strategy for genetic modification of plants
2010 Weimar-Heidelberg Arts – Futures
Are artists and engineers inventing the culture of tomorrow?
2011 Edinburgh – Engineering Studies
Can simple biological systems be built from standardized interchangeable parts?'Negotiating biology and engineering in a synthetic biology competition
2011 Peking_S – PLOS One
A formalized design process for bacterial consortia that perform logic computing
2011 Wageningen_UR – PLOS One
A multi-platform flow device for microbial (co-) cultivation and microscopic analysis
2011 Washington – ACS Synthetic Biology
Expanding the product profile of a microbial alkane biosynthetic pathway
2012 Groningen – ACS Synthetic Biology
Bacillus subtilis biosensor engineered to assess meat spoilage
2012 LMU-Munich – Journal of Biological Engineering
The Bacillus BioBrick Box: generation and evaluation of essential genetic building blocks for standardized work with Bacillus subtilis
2012 NRP-UEA-Norwich – Figshare
Characterization of a rationally engineered nitric oxide, nitrate and nitrite biosensor linked to a hybrid bacterialmammalian promoter
2012 Slovenia – Nature Communication
A bistable genetic switch based on designable DNA-binding domains
2013 Buenos_Aires – Synthetic Biology
Design and evaluation of an incoherent feed-forward loop for an arsenic biosensor based on standard iGEM parts
2013 Cornell – ACS Synthetic Biology
Standardization of functional reporter and antibiotic resistance cassettes to facilitate the genetic engineering of filamentous fungi
2013 CU-Boulder – ACS Synthetic Biology
Engineered calcium-precipitable restriction enzyme
2013 Freiburg – ACS Synthetic Biology
Modularized CRISPR/dCas9 effector toolkit for target-specific gene regulation
2013 GeorgiaTech – ACS Synthetic Biology
One Primer To Rule Them All: Universal Primer That Adds BBa_B0034 Ribosomal Binding Site to Any Coding Standard 10 BioBrick
2013 Greensboro-Austin – Journal of Biological Engineering
The case for decoupling assembly and submission standards to maintain a more flexible registry of biological parts
2013 Imperial_College – bioRxiv
Characterization of a rationally engineered phaCAB operon with a hybrid promoter design
2013 Paris_Bettencourt – ACS Synthetic Biology
Silencing of antibiotic resistance in E. coli with engineered phage bearing small regulatory RNAs
2013 Paris_Bettencourt – ACS Synthetic Biology
In situ characterization of mycobacterial growth inhibition by lytic enzymes expressed in vectorized E. coli
2013 Peking – ACS Synthetic Biology
Design, construction, and characterization of a set of biosensors for aromatic compounds
2013 SJTU-BioX-Shanghai – ACS Synthetic Biology
Quantitatively relating gene expression to light intensity via the serial connection of blue light sensor and CRISPRi
2013 Wageningen_UR – ACS Synthetic Biology
Toolkit for visualization of the cellular structure and organelles in Aspergillus niger
2013 ZJU-China – ACS Synthetic Biology
Detection of thrombin with an aptamer-based macromolecule biosensor using bacterial ghost system
2014 Cambridge-JIC, Velancia UPV, NRP UEA – Synthetic Biology
BBF RFC 106: a standard Type IIS syntax for plants
2014 Imperial – PNAS
Engineering control of bacterial cellulose production using a genetic toolkit and a new cellulose-producing strain
2014 UGA-Georgia – bioRxiv
Mmp10 is required for post-translational methylation of arginine at the active site of methyl-coenzyme M reductase
2016 Arizona_State – bioRxiv
Characterization of Diverse Homoserine Lactone Synthases in Escherichia coli
2016 Peking – ACS Synthetic Biology
A Genetically Encoded Protein Polymer for Uranyl Binding and Extraction Based on the SpyTag-SpyCatcher Chemistry
2016 Technion_Israel – bioRxiv
Demonstration of de novo chemotaxis in E. coli using a real-time, quantitative, and digital-like approach
2016 UCAS – Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology
A genetically engineered <i>Escherichia coli</i> that senses and degrades tetracycline antibiotic residue
2017 Arizona_State – bioRxiv
Engineered orthogonal quorum sensing systems for synthetic gene regulation
2017 Calgary – bioRxiv
Astroplastic: A start-to-finish process for polyhydroxybutyrate production from solid human waste using genetically engineered bacteria to address the challenges for future manned Mars missions
2017 Dalhousie – bioRxiv
Discovery and Characterization of Novel Lignocellulose-Degrading Enzymes from the Porcupine Microbiome by Synthetic Metagenomics
2017 Glasgow – bioRxiv
Characterizing Genetic Circuit Components in E. coli towards a Campylobacter jejuni Biosensor
2017 IIT-Madras – bioRxiv
ChassiDex: A microbial database useful for synthetic biology applications
2017 IONIS-PARIS – bioRxiv
A thermo-responsive plasmid for biconditional protein expression
2017 Kingsborough_NY – bioRxiv
Quantification of DNA samples by Ethidium Bromide Spot Technique
2017 Munich – bioRxiv
A low-cost fluorescence reader for in vitro transcription and nucleic acid detection with Cas13a
2017 Newcastle – bioRxiv
Capturing Multicellular System Designs Using the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL)
2017 Stanford-Brown – bioRxiv
Getting there and staying there: supporting and enabling persistent human life on Mars using synthetic natural rubber, self-healing materials, and biological batteries
2017 TAS_Taipei – bioRxiv
Recombinant expression of Proteorhodopsin and biofilm regulators in Escherichia coli for nanoparticle binding and removal in a wastewater treatment model
2018 GO_Paris-Saclay – Med Sci (Paris)
Dégradation d’un anticancéreux dans les eaux usées
2018 TU-Eindhoven – bioRxiv
Engineered Living Materials based on Adhesin-mediated Trapping of Programmable Cells
2018 TUDelft – bioRxiv
CRISPR-based DNA and RNA detection with liquid-liquid phase separation
2019 SMMU-China – bioRxiv