Team:SYSU-China/Safety

From 2011.igem.org

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<p align="left">Actually no.<br />
<p align="left">Actually no.<br />
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   From the aspect of the project idea itself, none of the new genes or  techniques we used would raise safety issues. We are going to carry out the plasmid  engineering and gene knock out techniques, which are common uses of <em>E. Coli</em> in almost every lab around the  world and have been accepted by society and public for a long time. According  to the Biosafety manual of the World Health Organization, the strains we are  going to use such as BL21 (gold) PLYS AG belong to the “Risk Group 1”, and “Biosafety Level 1 – basic”. So there is a very low potential that our members, the public or environment will be harmed by our bacteria. The safety of recombinant <em>E. Coli</em> might be the most  unpredictable problem in every similar project. However, the gene recombined in <em>E. Coli</em> all originate from other  strains of <em>E. Coli</em> or this K-12  strain, such as recA, recN, CheZ, trkD, ag43, it is much safer than using gene  of different species. At the same time, the channel absorbing cesium is  previously used to absorb potassium in natural environment so that little  negative effect could be made.<br />
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   From the aspect of the project itself, no part in the iGEM 2011 SYSU-China would raise any safety issue in terms of researchers, the public or the environment. The bacteria we are working on are Escherichia coli BL21 and DH5α，the non-virulent mutants of Escherichia coli, which are considered to be non-pathogenic and unlikely to survive in host tissues and cause disease. These are confirmed by R.M. La Ragione and M.J. Woodwad in their paper An investigation into the pathogenic properties of Escherichia coli strains BLR, BL21, DH5a and EQ1 (http://ors.uchc.edu/bio/resources/pdf/3.6.1.A_colipath.pdf). In addition to that, since several years' operation of the two kinds of E.coli in the labs and no virulence against human has been reported, we believe that these strains are harmless to researchers, the public, and the environment.
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From the aspect of our iGEM team members, each one was required to attend a pre-lab training led by graduate students and advisors both on experimental skills and safety instructions before he or she actually started to do the iGEM program in the lab. They trained us how to operate the fundamental experiments, and taught us the basic safety rules in the lab, such as how to use the toxic reagents. During the program, we wear gloves properly and disinfect tubes and plates after use. When it involves the radiation-related experiments, the operation will be carried out by the technician with radiation-usage permission. We also conform strictly to the established safety rules in the lab (http://biosafety.sysu.edu.cn/administer/UploadFiles_9471/200804/2008041817410158.pdf).
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  From the aspect of our members, each of our iGEM team members was required to attend a pre-lab training led by graduate students and advisors both on experimental skills and safety instructions before he or she actually started to do the iGEM program in the lab. All of us are aware of the potential harmfulness  to the researcher, the public and the environment. The radiation-related experiment will be carried out with the presence of the teacher or technician with radiation-usage permission. We have also carefully established safety rules in the lab and placing extra stress on properly handling bacteria,  plasmids and nucleotide-related reagents to prevent undesirable spread of genes  into the environment.<br />
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<p align="left">No. All the promoters, genes originate from E<em>. coli </em>itself and had been part of this species for a long period. There is no safety issues raised by the new BioBrick parts because they do not pose any risk to humans as well as the environment.</p>
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<p align="left">No biobricks made by the SYSU-China team will raise any safety issues. The biobricks, such as recA, recN, cheZ, trkD and ag43, are all the natural parts of E.coli in natural environment, and commonly used for laboratory operation. Their function and functional mechanism are clearly known, and they are not associated with pathogenicity, infectivity, or toxicity, nor will they cause threats to environmental quality. Moreover, cheZ and ag43 are standard biobricks provided by iGEM authority, so the safety of these biobricks can be guaranteed.</p>
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<p align="left">Yes. Biosafety issues are concerned by committees both of our school and the government. They have also established guidelines and policies on biosafety. We  have talked and discussed the safety issue with them. They mainly concern the effect of radiation experiment. On the other hand, they emphasized the importance of the observance of fundamental laboratory rules so that the safety  of the researcher, public and the environment would be guaranteed.<br />
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<p align="left">In our university, Biosafety Committee of Sun Yat-sen University is responsible for monitoring the safety of all the research activities on the campus. Their regulations are stipulated according to the WHO Laboratory biosafety manual, which is also conformed to by our country (http://biosafety.sysu.edu.cn/Soft/UploadSoft/200804/2008042116071397.pdf). Before our team started the program, we have talked about the safety issues of the whole project. They were really concerned about the radiation-related experiments, and emphasized that these experiments must be operated by the professional technician. In addition to that, they also requested that all procedures conducted in this project should be performed according to the rules stipulated by WHO On the whole, they think about our project as safe. With the surveillance of the Biosafety Committee of Sun Yat-sen University and the cautious operation of our members, the project will be harmless to the researchers, the public or the environment.<br />
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   <strong>Do you have any other ideas how to deal with  safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could  parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?</strong></p>
   <strong>Do you have any other ideas how to deal with  safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could  parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?</strong></p>
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<p>As far as we are concerned, requirement  that every team should focus on the safety issues, especially when they are submitting  the BioBrick parts may be one of the solution. More stringent  requirements on the BioBrick such as the prediction of potential safety  problems lead to safer engineering. Moreover, instructions and emphases on the importance and ways to measure and ensure safety are recommended to be provided  through the website or during the workshop, thus maintaining an easy access to  these instructional resources on biosafety.</p>
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<p>We suggest that the safety information of any part used in the iGEM competition, especially its functions, should be investigated clearly through literature search before the usage. If the part has any intention to raise safety issues, the iGEM team should refuse to use it and choose other alternatives. In addition to that, iGEM teams should submit the safety report with their biobricks part to the iGEM authority, describing the safety issues of the biobricks part, which should also be examined by a professional third party. Thus the high-risk biobricks or parts with potential biosafety problems will be identified and abandoned before submitting. Through this way can the parts, devices and systems be made much safer. With above measures, the safety of the biobricks submitted can be guaranteed.</p>

Latest revision as of 16:49, 31 August 2011

Safety issues
·  Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of:

  • researcher safety,
  • public safety, or
  • environmental safety?


Actually no.

From the aspect of the project itself, no part in the iGEM 2011 SYSU-China would raise any safety issue in terms of researchers, the public or the environment. The bacteria we are working on are Escherichia coli BL21 and DH5α，the non-virulent mutants of Escherichia coli, which are considered to be non-pathogenic and unlikely to survive in host tissues and cause disease. These are confirmed by R.M. La Ragione and M.J. Woodwad in their paper An investigation into the pathogenic properties of Escherichia coli strains BLR, BL21, DH5a and EQ1 (http://ors.uchc.edu/bio/resources/pdf/3.6.1.A_colipath.pdf). In addition to that, since several years' operation of the two kinds of E.coli in the labs and no virulence against human has been reported, we believe that these strains are harmless to researchers, the public, and the environment. From the aspect of our iGEM team members, each one was required to attend a pre-lab training led by graduate students and advisors both on experimental skills and safety instructions before he or she actually started to do the iGEM program in the lab. They trained us how to operate the fundamental experiments, and taught us the basic safety rules in the lab, such as how to use the toxic reagents. During the program, we wear gloves properly and disinfect tubes and plates after use. When it involves the radiation-related experiments, the operation will be carried out by the technician with radiation-usage permission. We also conform strictly to the established safety rules in the lab (http://biosafety.sysu.edu.cn/administer/UploadFiles_9471/200804/2008041817410158.pdf).


·  Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues? If yes,

  • did you document these issues in the Registry?
  • how did you manage to handle the safety issue?
  • How could other teams learn from your experience?


No biobricks made by the SYSU-China team will raise any safety issues. The biobricks, such as recA, recN, cheZ, trkD and ag43, are all the natural parts of E.coli in natural environment, and commonly used for laboratory operation. Their function and functional mechanism are clearly known, and they are not associated with pathogenicity, infectivity, or toxicity, nor will they cause threats to environmental quality. Moreover, cheZ and ag43 are standard biobricks provided by iGEM authority, so the safety of these biobricks can be guaranteed.



·  Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution?

  • If yes, what does your local biosafety group think about your project?
  • If no, which specific biosafety rules or guidelines do you have to consider in your country?


In our university, Biosafety Committee of Sun Yat-sen University is responsible for monitoring the safety of all the research activities on the campus. Their regulations are stipulated according to the WHO Laboratory biosafety manual, which is also conformed to by our country (http://biosafety.sysu.edu.cn/Soft/UploadSoft/200804/2008042116071397.pdf). Before our team started the program, we have talked about the safety issues of the whole project. They were really concerned about the radiation-related experiments, and emphasized that these experiments must be operated by the professional technician. In addition to that, they also requested that all procedures conducted in this project should be performed according to the rules stipulated by WHO On the whole, they think about our project as safe. With the surveillance of the Biosafety Committee of Sun Yat-sen University and the cautious operation of our members, the project will be harmless to the researchers, the public or the environment.


Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?


We suggest that the safety information of any part used in the iGEM competition, especially its functions, should be investigated clearly through literature search before the usage. If the part has any intention to raise safety issues, the iGEM team should refuse to use it and choose other alternatives. In addition to that, iGEM teams should submit the safety report with their biobricks part to the iGEM authority, describing the safety issues of the biobricks part, which should also be examined by a professional third party. Thus the high-risk biobricks or parts with potential biosafety problems will be identified and abandoned before submitting. Through this way can the parts, devices and systems be made much safer. With above measures, the safety of the biobricks submitted can be guaranteed.



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