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From 2010.igem.org

Environmental Safety

Given the nature of the agrEcoli product, certain considerations to the environment had to be factored in to the project. Clearly the aerosol distribution of genetically modified E.coli directly onto soil in the British countryside was not an option available to the team, so an alternative method of delivery had to be devised. See pages on bead design and public engagement for more information regarding the delivery system pioneered by the BCCS-Bristol 2010 iGEM team.

Experimental observations regarding the Gellan Gel used to create the bead delivery system informed the team's considerations to environmental safety when applying beads to soil. The natural derivation of Gellan Gel, coupled with its degradation over time during various tests means that the gel is biodegradable and harmless to the environment.

The E.coli encapsulated within the beads were observed to have died and decayed a significant period of time before the degradation of the gel released them directly into the environment.

With regards to the toxicity of agrEcoli beads, the Gellan gel used to create the product is a harmless food additive and is used in a wide variety of commercially available foodstuffs. The E.coli encapsulated within the beads are a lab strain specifically designed to die without the carefully balanced environment created for them in the bead, so and inquisitive children or pets will not by harmed by accidental ingestion of the product.

As a summary of the above, the observations taken by the team during experiments with the gel encapsulation of genetically modified E.coli show us that agrEcoli poses little danger to the environment. There is also very little potential danger from the substances or bacteria used to either humans or animals.