Students Develop Bacterium to Protect Plants

In their RhyzUp project, the students were able to genetically modify a bacterium in such a way that it increasingly produces a biofilm that covers and protects the roots of the plants. This means the roots are better able to absorb water and have better protection from harmful influences from the soil.

The students adopted a two-pronged approach to achieve this. First, they modified an enzyme that increases the production of biofilm components. At the same time, they suppressed another enzyme that inhibits their production. “Both these methods worked,” explains biomedicine student Seraina Müller, who led the ten-person team together with Vanessa Dörr. The bacterium modified by the students produced measurably more biofilm than unmodified bacteria.

The students had just 10 months to prepare their entry for the iGEM synthetic biology competition. They were responsible for all aspects of the project and made all the decisions themselves, defining the objective, organizing lab space, raising funds and presenting the project in videos and on a website. “The opportunity to work in a project team with such great freedom at an early stage in my studies was a key reason why I decided to get involved,” says Maurin Widmer, who is in the third year of his Bachelor’s degree in biology.

The 10 students worked on RhyzUp in three groups from January to October 2024. Seraina Müller worked in the Wet Lab, where she and five other students were responsible for genetically modifying the bacteria. Maurin Widmer worked alongside a colleague on a computer in the Dry Lab, using models to calculate which gene modifications looked promising and how the synthesized bacteria would behave.

The final two members of the team examined how the bacterium could actually be introduced into agricultural production; they did this by talking to farmers, meteorologists and experts in the field of plant protection. “This was a key aspect,” says Maurin Widmer. “If you embark on a solution-focused project, it’s vital to be aware of the needs of the people who will actually use it.” The prize that the team won for their project is also recognition of this aspect in particular.

“All the effort that went into this project was well worth it, even though we underestimated the amount of work involved, especially in the preparatory phase during the semester,” agree Seraina Müller and Maurin Widmer. They wouldn’t have missed the experience for anything. “We’re not aware of any other project at the university in which you can learn such a lot in such a short space of time,” concludes Maurin Widmer.

They had to delve deep into the scientific literature just to decide on the topic. “I didn’t just learn how to work in a lab, prepare and conduct experiments, but also how to read scientific literature correctly and write my own texts,” says Seraina Müller, summarizing what she learned.

As joint leader of the group, she also gained experience of how to lead a team and communicate with other people. “At the start, one of the biggest challenges for me was working together with so many different people with a different mindset to me,” she says. But by the end, it was a very enriching experience: “The more brains you have in the team, the more aspects you can cover.”

The project demonstrated to Maurin Widmer that he finds theoretical biology fascinating as a field of study, and he can now prepare for a Master’s degree in this field. Working on RhyzUp and in a team also gave him a great deal of self-confidence: “We’ve all seen that we can successfully implement a project like this.” That’s why they also have simple words of advice for the team taking part in this year’s competition: “Think big and have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.”