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From 2010.igem.org

Environmental Safety

Given the nature of the agriColi 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.

As a summary of the above, the observations taken by the team during experiments with the gel encapsulation of genetically modified E.coil show us that there is no potential danger to the enviroment with the use of agriColi in the environment.