Team:Wageningen UR/Safety/Two
From 2011.igem.org
(→Biosafety and biosecurity considerations) |
(→Biosafety and biosecurity considerations) |
||
(4 intermediate revisions not shown) | |||
Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
The air filtering system will have a hard time in keeping aerosols in the lab when a window gets broken. If this happens through a thunderstorm, an electricity break-down is not unlikely and would increase the chance of release furthermore. Under Good Microbial Practice, though, the formation of aerosols is prevented as much as possible, thus the combination of these probabilities leaves a total probability that is not that high. | The air filtering system will have a hard time in keeping aerosols in the lab when a window gets broken. If this happens through a thunderstorm, an electricity break-down is not unlikely and would increase the chance of release furthermore. Under Good Microbial Practice, though, the formation of aerosols is prevented as much as possible, thus the combination of these probabilities leaves a total probability that is not that high. | ||
- | |||
- | |||
All waste containing genetically modified organisms is required to be sterilized by autoclaving before disposal. Direct actions should be taken if it is discovered that an autoclave has been malfunctioning after the waste is discarded outside of the lab. To reduce the risk on environmental contamination it is necessary to check upon the autoclave’s functionality (by monitoring its operational temperature). If the aforementioned hazards do occur, they should be reported to the Minister of ‘Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment’ and involved institutions to make the hazards undone as soon as possible. | All waste containing genetically modified organisms is required to be sterilized by autoclaving before disposal. Direct actions should be taken if it is discovered that an autoclave has been malfunctioning after the waste is discarded outside of the lab. To reduce the risk on environmental contamination it is necessary to check upon the autoclave’s functionality (by monitoring its operational temperature). If the aforementioned hazards do occur, they should be reported to the Minister of ‘Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment’ and involved institutions to make the hazards undone as soon as possible. | ||
- | The usage of antibiotic resistance markers increases the chance of spreading antibiotic resistance to pathogens. By conjugation, transduction or natural genetic transformation, DNA can be transferred between bacteria. There is a chance the antibiotic resistance genes end up in a pathogenic bacterium which is not intrinsically resistant to antibiotics. | + | The usage of antibiotic resistance markers increases the chance of spreading antibiotic resistance to pathogens. By conjugation, transduction or natural genetic transformation, DNA can be transferred between bacteria. There is a chance the antibiotic resistance genes end up in a pathogenic bacterium which is not intrinsically resistant to antibiotics. The chance that these genes persist is low, since there is no direct evolutionary benefit for micro-organisms living around the lab to take up the extraneous genes. |
The physical conditions outside the lab are harsh to the ''E. coli'' strain chassis that is used, so the bacterium would be unable to grow. The DNA of the BioBrick system will not be widely spread right after (un)intentional release. By means of natural genetic transformation the DNA of the BioBrick system could be taken up by other bacteria. As expression of the plasmid would incur a significant metabolic burden on a (probably non-pathogenic) soil bacterium, and do little to increase its fitness, it is considered unlikely that the plasmid would be propagated. Unfortunately it is not possible to know in advance what the actual effect of a natural transformation would be, but the odds seem to be in favor of it to cause little impact on the environment. | The physical conditions outside the lab are harsh to the ''E. coli'' strain chassis that is used, so the bacterium would be unable to grow. The DNA of the BioBrick system will not be widely spread right after (un)intentional release. By means of natural genetic transformation the DNA of the BioBrick system could be taken up by other bacteria. As expression of the plasmid would incur a significant metabolic burden on a (probably non-pathogenic) soil bacterium, and do little to increase its fitness, it is considered unlikely that the plasmid would be propagated. Unfortunately it is not possible to know in advance what the actual effect of a natural transformation would be, but the odds seem to be in favor of it to cause little impact on the environment. |
Latest revision as of 19:35, 21 September 2011