iGEM The UT Austin iGEM team is an undergraduate team of researchers that develops and engages in a new Synthetic Biology Project each calendar year. The team forms (through the FRI/ARI program) in fall of the preceding year and then ideates their project during the spring semester, conducts research throughout the year (Sp-Su-Fa), and then presents their work in several formats during the fall semester to an international group of synthetic biologists (professors, postdocs, research scientists, etc…). 2025 iGEM Project In Austin, harmful algal blooms have become a recurring problem in Lady Bird Lake. The warm weather, slow-moving water, and nutrient runoff from the city create conditions where cyanobacteria can thrive. Unfortunately, there have been multiple cases of dogs becoming sick or dying after swimming in Lady Bird Lake, which has raised community concern and drawn attention to the risks these toxins pose. Our project goal is to design a DNA-based sensor in Acinetobacter baylyi (ADP1) that can recognize and degrade microcystins produced by blue-green algae. The strain of cyanobacteria we are focusing on is Microcystis aeruginosa, whose genome contains the mcy gene cluster responsible for microcystin production. Currently we are engineering a sensor that can integrate into ADP1’s genome via homologous recombination and detect environmental DNA. Upon detection of a target region of the mcy gene cluster, ADP1 will confer chloramphenicol resistance, alerting us to the presence of the toxin. The proposed mechanism for the microcystin DNA sensor in ADP1. Figure made by Tess Driscoll. Previous iGEM Projects include: Glutten Globetrotters (2024) AssaCin (2023) ARROWE (2022) OCTOPUS (2021)
