Pravoslav Žilka, a student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at BUT, is part of the Mendel Brno team, which is getting ready to represent the Czech Republic at the prestigious biotechnology competition iGEM 2025 in Paris. Together with his colleagues, he is building an autonomous cultivation unit for the fast-growing duckweed plant in the university's strojLAB workshop. The goal is to offer farmers an affordable and local source of protein that could once replace soy.

Mr. Žilka, you are part of a student team from Brno that is going to compete in the iGEM 2025 competition. What is it about?

The purpose is to solve a real problem using synthetic biology. However, such a solution usually cannot be done without technical knowledge, which is why the team consists both of biologists and engineers.

How did you manage to put together a team of 21 students from BUT and Masaryk University?

Most people joined through a recruitment campaign. Some of us, including me, found out about the competition thanks to friends who were already in the team.

How long have you been preparing for the competition?

The decision to participate came in April 2024 – at that time, the team still consisted only of three biologists. In September, we started to put together a wider team, the initial work started in November, and in January, we started building the cultivator.

Why the iGEM competition?

Because it is the most prestigious biotechnology competition in the world. It is extremely difficult to win it, but even partial awards, for example, for hardware or software, are held in great esteem. Success at iGEM means testing the capabilities of the entire team and gaining respect in the professional community.

What is your project about?

We want to replace soy, because up to 80% of the total production is used to feed livestock. We are developing a cultivation unit that the farmer feeds with the slurry. Duckweed will then grow in the unit thanks to the slurry. The plant is automatically harvested and provides a local and protein-packed feed source that is also cheaper. In order for duckweed to grow fast enough in this unit, it needs to be genetically modified – this is what colleagues of Masaryk University take care of.

Soy? No thank you! Better "duckweed beast" Today, soy dominates as the main source of protein that farmers use to feed their animals. They are attracted by its high protein content – but this also often means a high price that farmers have to pay, which is then reflected in the price of dairy products. But it doesn't end there! Soybeans also represent a huge environmental toll that we all pay – and will continue to pay for a long time: millions of hectares of destroyed natural ecosystems and huge amounts of greenhouse gases. And yet, there is a risk that in the horizon of several decades there will simply not be enough soy for everyone. Excerpt from the project presentation on the Donio.cz website

What is your role?

Together with Andrej Žabka from FME and Martin Pavello, a FIT graduate, we are building an autonomous cultivation unit. Our goal is to grow duckweed as efficiently as possible with minimal need for human control.

Where is the cultivator being developed?

We are building it in AssemblyLab, which is one of the workshops of strojLAB. That's where we spend most of our time. A big thank you for this goes to the representatives of the Institute of Machine and Industrial Design, Martin Malý and Vojtěch Florián, who created the base for us in the workshop.

What does participation in the team bring you?

I have learned to design and test new concepts and improved in finding funds and in presenting projects to the public. You also quickly get an idea of what is feasible and what is not.

What is the competition like?

Teams from all over the world will come to Paris – for example, from Stanford or Oxford, but also our colleagues from Prague. We regularly meet at iGEM community events, which are more friendly than competitive. Each team solves a completely different problem.

What is the key to success in the competition?

Choosing the right problem and a meaningful solution is important. Validation with people from practice and adjustments to the project according to their feedback are very much appreciated. And of course, the presentation also plays a big role – especially the paper one, because this is what the jurors have at their disposal.

On Donio, you are running a crowdfunding campaign called Mendel 2.0. What will you use the collected money for?

Primarily for the entry fee, laboratory facilities, and material needs – for example, those we used to build the cultivator. Those interested have the last few days to support us.

What would you say to students who have an idea but don't know how to start?

It helps the most to talk to someone in the field, even to a complete stranger. Active and enterprising people in Brno often hang around JIC – there is a great chance to come across similar projects.