Project Overview

Our aim of competing in the 2011 iGEM competition is to engineer a bacterial strain to give it new properties in order to achieve controllable adhesion of microbial reactors. The main theme to achieve this aim is to control cell-cell attachment and cell-surface attachment in such a way that it is applicable for industry and fundamental research.

In our project we strive for full control of the attachment and detachment of cells. In nature attachment consists of a complex network involving an extracellular matrix containing a wide variety of compounds. This complexity has hindered easy regulation. We will give Escherichia coli a much simpler but equally effective way of binding: mussel glue. Expressing the strongest protein responsible for the attachment of mussels to rocks, we can allow E. coli to strongly attach to even glass and plastic, whenever we want it, and subsequently releasing it again. This system should be viewed in the same category as “ the wheel”, by itself it is just a neat trick, but combination is key. Combining it for example with an E. coli capable biocatalytic conversion , one can create microbial production lines, use attachment for temporary rapid settling of biomass before product removal, or achieve fundamental premiers like bacterial cells forming a micro circle on command.

Workflow

Our workflow has been designed in such a way that each project is individual and independent. All the projects however contribute to one greater project.

In March we started by gathering project ideas with the team members, advisors, and supervisors. In April we did a lot of research on bioadhesion and mussel foot proteins. In May we started with sponsoring and working on our wiki. In June we designed our first BioBrick. We did some modeling and worked out our lab plan. Also, we made a plan to make the Dutch society aware of synthetic biology. Now, in July, we go on with al the subprojects we started. By the end of September, we hope to have succeeded in all our separate projects and reached our goal on scientific level. We hope to have a good modeling plan, well characterized Biobricks, a fruitful collaboration with other iGEM teams and the Rathenau Institute and wonderful exposition in the Science Centre.

Safety proposal

1. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of: researcher safety, public safety or environmental safety?

2. Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues?

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

Since 1997 Dr. L.A. (Lesley) Robertson is the Biological Safety Officer (BSO) of the Faculty of Applies Sciences of Delft University of Technology, she manages biological safety issues. She has knowledge of the laboratory practices and procedures within the faculty and oversees the biological safety program of the faculty.

Our faculty has ML-1 laboratories and one ML-2 laboratory, but we are only allowed to work in ML-1 labs for which the basic microbiology laboratory rules apply. Internationally, there are strict rules on genetically modified organisms (GMO). A license is required to be allowed to work with GMO’s. Only if the risks to humans and the environment are minimal to negligible, the government grants a license. The rules for working with GMO’s have to be followed by the laboratory researchers. For each laboratory one person is responsible for the compliance to the rules on that specific lab. Dr. L.A. Robertson has the final responsibility for all the labs. This means that she always knows what biological material is used, where and by whom.

Before you are allowed to work in a laboratory you have to pass a biosafety test, which includes identifying of possible hazards in a lab, and doing a so called washing test. This include all the basic rules for researches to be allowed to work on the lab. All team members passed this test. Afterwards she explained us under which permits our project is conducted and which permits we should verify to be sure it is allowed.

Therefore, a research proposal was provided to Dr. L.A. Robertson. The research proposal included a table containing the micro-organisms, plasmids and existing BioBricks we intend to use. To ensure that we’ll work within the permit, there are two lists which state all the allowed vectors and hosts. These lists are provided, just like the permit, by the Dutch Minsitry of Housing, Spatial planning and the environment. During the writing of our research proposal, we constantly verified in these lists if our plans were allowed. After Dr. L.A. Robertson read or research proposal and verified all the vectors and hosts, she gave us the permission for our project. Now we could start are project, during the future we will inform our BSO Dr. L.A. Robertson regularly on our progression in the lab and what we are planning to do in the near future.

4. Do you have other ideas 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?