Ethics

Our team is actively involved in developing a synthetic biology-based approach to bioremediation of the tailings ponds while ensuring the safety of the experimenters, the environment, and the public as a whole. To increase the acceptance of using GMO’s, we have created an interdisciplinary team, which includes management, arts, and science students, to improve our methods of communicating our project to the general public. The cell chassis that will be utilized in our project will be various lab strains of E. coli (i.e DH5α, BL21 (DE3)). These strains are widely used among biologists, biochemists, and biotechnologists due to the fact that they are non-pathogenic and possesses several unique qualities that make it ideal for recombinant DNA experiments. Not only will safety measures have to be employed in our laboratory but the concerns of the general public will also be considered. Introduction of an engineered E. coli organism that will be capable of degrading harmful chemicals in tailings ponds naturally raises concerns with regard to the safety of the public and the environment. As previously discussed, the specific strains of E. coli used in our project are not harmful to humans or other organisms in the environment and as a part of the Escherichia genus, also happen to be ubiquitous in nature. Furthermore, our team plans to incorporate some controllable aspect into the bacterial genome, which will allow degradation of the bacteria’s genome once it has been released, in order to bring about bacterial cell death. This mechanism of regulation will inhibit continued genetic propagation by hindering the spread of the organism within the environment. The team also intends to localize the catechol degrading enzymes into MCs, which could then be distributed in the form of a biodegradable powder. This would eliminate the use of bacteria altogether and could serve to greatly alleviate any concerns related to their release posing a potential threat to public and environmental safety.

The team has taken on a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing and exploring the concerns of ethics through our film Biospirits.