This year, the WHHS-Pro-China team contributed a total of 3 basic parts and 2 composite parts, focusing on the utilization of INP and PBP proteins to enhance phosphate uptake through bacterial surface display technology. Our project aims to create an efficient phosphate-binding and transport mechanism by fusing INP (a bacterial outer membrane protein) and PBP (a phosphate-binding protein), along with the PelB-PBP secretion tag. This work demonstrates how synthetic biology can be leveraged to optimize bacterial utilization of environmental phosphate resources.

PBP (Phosphate-Binding Protein): Responsible for recognizing and binding inorganic phosphate ions from the environment, facilitating their transport into the cell via the phosphate-specific transport system.

INP (Ice Nucleation Protein): Serves as an efficient carrier protein, enabling the stable display of exogenous proteins, including PBP, on the bacterial surface.

PelB (Secretion Tag): When fused with PBP, PelB utilizes its signal peptide to direct the efficient secretion of PBP to the extracellular environment, providing a novel method for bacteria to access and utilize phosphate resources.

Our work on INP-PBP fusion offers a promising strategy for enhancing phosphate uptake in bacteria, providing future iGEM teams with an advanced tool for optimizing nutrient acquisition. Additionally, the PelB-PBP fusion demonstrates the potential for efficient extracellular secretion of functional proteins, opening new possibilities for projects focusing on bacterial surface display and protein secretion systems. These contributions lay the groundwork for future teams to explore applications in environmental biosensing, nutrient cycling, and bioremediation.