Team:Tec-Monterrey/safetypage/qanda

Unlike other countries, for example U.S.A., in Mexico the terms "biosafety" and "biosecurity" are not used; instead, the term "biosafety" comprises both of them, with the definition of "biosafety" as "the actions and measures of evaluation, monitoring, control and prevention that must be assumed when carrying out activities with genetically engineered organisms, with the intention to prevent, avoid or reduce any possible risk that those activities could cause to the human health or the environment and biological diversity, including the harmlessness aspects of those organisms destined to their use or consumption.

In this project, according to the Approved List of Biological Agents of the ACDP, the organism that we are using has a biosecurity level of 2. This information tells us that the host could present some risk since Escherichia coli is infectious to mammals, including human beings. These bacteria can be acquired by injection, ingestion or autoinoculation.

The project involves two constructs with different functions, neither of which codify to any hazardous substance. In the first case, the organism has a higher impact to human health because of the biosecurity level of E. coli where membrane proteins with enzymes will be bound. The reactant that shall be transformed is saccarose with the help of a beta-fructofuranosidase, obtaining fructose and glucose in the process, which are both innocuous towards the environment. For the second case, the initial reactant is cellulose, being transformed to glucose monomers via a cellulase; this could be possibly harmful to the environment in case the bacteria escaped the laboratory, due to cellulose being the main component of the cell wall of plants.

This could represent a problem and thus, an environmental impact assessment should be done; however, with the appropriate measurements, bacteria should not escape from the area where they are manipulated (inside the laboratory), to not affect the public safety. Nevertheless, there is no evidence in the literature of any previously reported hazard of our enzyme, despite its industrial and bioremediation applications.

Health problems during research are not present if scientists follow suitable laboratory practices and facilities. In order to accomplish this, we talked with the coordinators of the R&D Laboratory; they taught us the minimum safety requirements to work and the disposal of waste, to make sure that the microorganisms we worked with could not be freed to the environment due to an accident or irresponsibility.

We found out that the Biotechnology School and "Centro de Biotecnología FEMSA" (FEMSA's Biotechnology Center), where we worked, had a Biosafety Committee that reviewed the protocols employed in the laboratory, the substances we employ and the protocol of hazardous waste management, including the use, treatment and disposal of these kind of waste. Subsequently, we asked the Committee for a visit to our laboratory to check that the previously written measures were correctly applied or, if not, to make suggestions to strengthen the protocol's weak points. Moreover, we sought advice from the president of the Biosafety Committee of the Tec de Monterrey Campus Monterrey's School of Medicine. This allowed us to have two different points of view about the measurements applied in the laboratory.

In our project, diverse biosecurity problems could be present. In order to go beyond all of these obstacles, first of all, the level of biosafety required to each project must be known. If any of the parts codified for a toxin, or the organism used was highly infectious, stricter measures would be taken. Once the complete information of the project is known, it is important to follow the pertinent rules, laws and regulations.

Mexico possesses the "Ley de Bioseguridad de Organismos Genéticamente Modificados" (Biosecurity Law for Genetically Modified Organisms), which establish that, in the case of scientific and technologic investigation, the GMO must be used in confinement. Also, it is necessary to fill a registry book for the activities of confined use that are done, to apply the confinement measures whose execution must be adapted to the most advanced and modern scientific and technologic knowledge of risk management and treatment, final disposal and waste elimination of GMO generated on diverse activities. Another of the neccesary means, as dictated by the law, is to form an internal biosafety commission, who must to make sure that the principles of good practices of scientific investigation are applied, and the biosafety rules are followed as the commission defines.

Regarding the placing, handling, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, we followed the neccessary means that establishes the "Norma Oficial Mexicana" (Mexican Oficial Regulation) NOM-087-ECOL-SSA1-2002. Based on this regulation, disposable Petri dishes and plastic tubes with biological waste were placed in autoclave resistant bags for biohazardous waste, then placed in the autoclave. The pipette tips were left in containers filled with antibenzyl (benzalkonium chloride) 1x for an entire day then placed in a red bag for hazardous waste. The liquid waste was placed also in containers filled with antibenzyl 1x. All of the waste was then transported to the temporary warehouse for waste of the "Laboratorio de Investigación del Centro de Biotecnología FEMSA". In order to accomplish this correctly, the coordination gave us the handbook for waste handling of the Investigation Laboratory, and we adapted it to our needs. Also, the coordinators instructed us about how to handle each kind of waste, to not have problems when transporting them to their respective area of the temporary warehouse.

It is of great importance to have a good knowledge of the necessary safety measures for working in the laboratory, as the safety of people working on it, and the success of the project, depend of that. Nevertheless, occasionally it is important that when investigators know the risks and benefits of their work, also they should inform to the rest of the population. Unfortunately, information about genetically engineered organisms not always reaches the people in a correct way. This is because the society's perception towards GMOs is more subjective than objective, being influenced by terms or situations unknown to them.

Regarding our biosafety approach, we made a survey related to the topic in order to measure the knowledge of people about biosafety and to know their opinion about genetically engineered food or GMOs used in the fabrication of products of diary consumption. The results can be seen in the biosafety page. A total of 100 people were surveyed. Despite 49% of them answered that they have heard the word "biosafety", only 39% stated to know what the word means. We asked that people about the meaning of the word and, after viewing the answers, we concluded that only a few people know completely the meaning of biosafety. 78% of the people supported the use of genetically engineered organisms and the percentage was the same when we asked if they will use products of diary consumption even when knowing that the products were or were made with GMOs.

However, the two last questions were specific cases that showed us more clearly the factors influencing perception of people regarding genetic modification of organisms and its use to solve them. In the first case, we took as an example the AH1N1 influenza virus outbreak and the recombinant vaccine made. When asking if they considered the making of that vaccine was safe to both investigators and patients, 89% of people agreed. In the other hand, when proposing a GMO that could support the Mexican sugar industry, but that the organism will be involved in the process of making high fructose syrup from sugar, the percentage decreased to 76%, despite "experts" assuring that there is not any risk of using them. From these questions we conclude that health has a high priority, so people would accept the use of GMOs in the making of a vaccine that could benefit to a great ammount of people. But when the GMOs are used to help economically unsustainable industries the response is less afirmative. This could be because the GMO would be employed to make a food product of high consumption, so it seems less reliable to use.

Up to this point, any process made in this work, considering the theoretical investigation and the information given to us by the biosafety experts from the Centro de Biotecnologia FEMSA, have allowed us to count with the appropriate means to keep ours and the environment's safety, and also to diminish the contamination present during the project development. All the knowledge gained is of great importance to the professional development of the team in regards of biosafety and, to the same extent, biosecurity.