The Thailand-RIS iGEM team had a full calendar in Paris, France, and at the iGEM Grand Jamboree, an annual synthetic biology competition event showcasing the projects of 400-plus teams worldwide. In addition to engaging in some unique and educational sightseeing, they were able to showcase their work across several sessions, including a formal judging session and two-stage talks, and earn RIS Ruamrudee International School’s first-ever gold medal at iGEM!
Project Title: Mirifica Magnifica: Pathway to Puerarin!
The Thailand-RIS team aims to make neurodegenerative disease treatments more accessible by developing a sustainable method for producing puerarin, genistein, and daidzein, all isoflavonoids with neuroprotective properties. Currently, the production of these isoflavonoids is costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming. The production of these supplements would be made more efficient by transferring the key enzymes in the isoflavonoid pathway responsible for producing these compounds from its native plant, Pueraria lobata v. mirifica, to a more sustainable and less resource-intensive plant, Nicotiana benthamiana, through transient modification using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The enzymes transferred include chalcone synthase (PmCHS), chalcone reductase (PmCHR), chalcone isomerase (PmCHI), isoflavone synthase (PmIFS), 2-hydroxyisoflavanone (PmHID), and C-glycosyltransferase (PmC-UGT). The team successfully modified N. Benthamiana and established proof of concept by finding traces of all 3 of the targeted compounds, with genistein being the most prominently detected and puerarin being minimally detected.
Promo Video:
For their achievement and efforts across both the science and communications aspects of the competition, they were awarded:
- a nomination for “best parts collection” (high school level) – a technology prize related to gene construction and engineering
- the special prize for “inclusivity” (high school level) – only one HS team is awarded this prize
- a gold medal for the standard of work – which was the RIS team’s primary goal heading into the competition
Team Thailand-RIS also had the honor of presenting their work to the Thai Ambassador to France, His Excellency Mr. Sarun Charoensuwan, who also happens to be an alumnus of RIS Ruamrudee International School, hailing from the Class of 1982.
Congratulations to the Thailand-RIS iGEM team on yet another fantastic showing at iGEM! Special thanks to their teachers, Ms. Nicole Sabet and Mr. Olivier Fernandez, for their support during this trip and to the Department of Biochemistry and the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at Chulalongkorn University for their support and collaboration. Here’s to the next!
The iGEM judges remarked on bringing recognition to indigenous medicines through a synthetic biology lens. They recognized the Thailand-RIS team’s unique challenges and efforts as only one of two high school teams from Southeast Asia (out of 130 high school teams). The team found it especially heartening to be recognized for inclusivity, as the award acknowledges exceptional efforts to include people with diverse identities in scientific research. The distinction aligns perfectly with the “heart” attribute of RIS’ own “Principles of the Phoenix” school-wide learner outcomes. (Special thanks to Ms. Mina Park and the elementary school Class of 2032 and Class of 2034 who participated in the NGSS-aligned synbio zoo workshops.)
