2016 DNA Distribution:
All you need to know

Welcome to iGEM 

The 2016 DNA Distribution Kits are shipping! We’ve made some exciting changes to this year’s distribution, and there’s more news on the horizon for the iGEM competition and the Registry. Read on below to learn about the contents of the distribution kit and what to expect. 

Let us know when your box arrives by taking a picture with your DNA Distribution box and tagging it in social media with #WelcomeToiGEM. Get creative! We will be collecting the photos and showing them off later in the season.

New in 2016

For detailed information on the DNA Distribution Kit, see the 2016 DNA Distribution Handbook. 

You may copy/paste this link into your browser: http://parts.igem.org/Help:2016_DNA_Distribution

InterLab Measurement Kit

All 2016 iGEM teams are invited and encouraged to participate in the Third International InterLaboratory Measurement Study in synthetic biology. This year’s InterLab study is introducing absolute units, so that teams will easily be able to compare their results. We’ve included an InterLab Measurement Kit for teams who wish to participate in the 2016 InterLab. For more details, check the InterLab study page.

You may copy/paste this link into your browser: http://2016.igem.org/Tracks/Measurement/Interlab_study

PhytoBricks -  a New Assembly Standard

We are very excited to announce that iGEM and the Registry will be supporting a new assembly standard called PhytoBricks! It’s a Type IIS assembly standard based on Golden Gate and used primarily by plant synthetic biologists, but could be easily used in other chassis as well. More details will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for future newsletters! 

Distribution Kit Plates

The 2016 DNA Distribution includes six 384-well kit plates, containing over 1200 sequence confirmed part samples. The kit includes popular parts and selected part submissions from over the years. Please note that this year’s distribution does not include 2015 Submissions, but those samples will be available by request. 

Most of the part samples in the distribution adhere to the BioBrick RFC10 standard to ensure compatibility between parts, allowing them to be easily and reliably assembled together into novel devices and systems. We have also included a small subset of PhytoBrick parts for plant synthetic biology projects. Part samples in the kit have been sequenced, so be sure to review a part’s sequencing result before using it.

Please note that there is not enough DNA for 3A Assembly right out of the kit, but you can transform a part sample and make your own glycerol stock for future use.  Once the DNA in a kit plate well is resuspended with dH2O, we recommend storage of the full plate at -20°C.

You may copy/paste this link into your browser: http://parts.igem.org/Help:Requesting_Parts

Linearized Plasmid Backbones

A set of four linearized plasmid backbones have been included in your kit. They can be used for 3A Assembly and for part submission (in pSB1C3) at the end of the season. Store the box at -20°C, and learn how to use them and make your own here or go to: 

http://parts.igem.org/Help:Protocols/Linearized_Plasmid_Backbones

Competent Cell Test Kit

Are you having some transformation troubles? If so, please use the Competent Cell Test Kit to check the efficiency of your cells! This kit should be very useful for teams during troubleshooting and we hope you find it easy to use. The Competent Cell Test Kit contains several controls to determine the transformation efficiency of your competent cells. Whether you’ve purchased them, or made your own, be sure to test the efficiency of your competent cells before you transform part samples from the distribution kit. Store at -20°C. For more information, please see the Competent Cell Test Kit page or go to:

http://parts.igem.org/Help:Competent_Cell_Test_Kit

Part Submission Kit

We’re making part submission simple for your team! We know the end of the season is very busy for teams and have included the Part Submission Kit to help make the shipment of your DNA to iGEM HQ easy and stress free. The part submission kit included with your distribution includes the materials you will need to send your part samples to the iGEM Registry at the end of the season: skirted PCR plates, adhesive foils, plate lids, packaging material, and a box you can use for shipping.

iGEM follows the Get & Give philosophy. You are receiving the work of teams that came before you, and teams that come after you will want to learn from your work and make use of your parts. When you make your parts you can use any assembly technique you wish (3A, Type IIS, Gibson, synthesis — see the IDT free DNA offer [http://2016.igem.org/Sponsors/IDT ] ) but your parts should be BioBrick compatible. This way, teams in the future can make use of the parts you contribute.

Coming up next...

Look for more information on team collaboration opportunities in the next newsletter.

• New iGEM forum: Join us on the phpBB forum (http://igem.forumatic.com). This phpBB forum will allow users to connect more easily with each other. 
• Team Meetups: Meetup events are happening around the world. Visit our team meet up page (http://2016.igem.org/Community/Meetups) for the latest event information
• Share your experience: Help highlight the unique educational contributions of iGEM in this University of Geneva survey. Click here to participate or visit http://2016.igem.org/Survey.

For the latest news and updates visit us at 2016.igem.org