Team:Warsaw/Safe

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• Team
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• Idea
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• Idea
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• Idea
• Background and Design
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• Gallery of microphotographs

• Idea
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• Modeling

• Parts
• Labbook

• Licensing of biological parts
• Syntetic biology in Poland
• Synthetic BioLectures gallery
• iGEM survey

• About Biobrick Manager
• See Biobrick Manager

Safety

Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues?

The main idea of our project - invasive E. coli strain that delivers proteins into mammalian cells can potentially be dangerous if handled incorrectly. Although laboratory E. coli strains are considered non-pathogenic and are unable to survive inside mammalian cell cytoplasm the exact effects of accidental infection with E. coli strain harboring our construct is not tested. It means that great care must be taken during work with our invasiveness devices. However the risk is limited to researcher safety because laboratory Coli strains are incapable of surviving in low nutrient environment. Also our BactoDHL strain is incapable of cell to cell transmission meaning that even if somebody gets infected the infection wouldn't be spread beyond initially infected cells. Also BactoDHL wouldn't replicate or survive long in a human cells.

Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues?

Our Biobrick devices expressing invasin (K177010), namely BBa_K299813, BBa_K299815, BBa_K299816 can potentially raise safety issues. As we have described on the parts' pages researcher should always wear labcoat and protective gloves when working with these parts. Work in the BioHazard capable laminair chamber is strongly recommended. Additionally we have developed MinC-based safety device to stop growth of our strain when it's delivered to mammalian cells.

Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution?

There isn't any local biosafety group, committee, or review board at our faculty. However, every aspect of work with genetically engineered organisms is strictly regulated by acts of parliament and European Union directives.

Main act regulating work with GMO has been passed by Polish parliament on 22 June 2001, and further changed on 21 May 2003. The text of act can be found [http://isip.sejm.gov.pl/servlet/Search?todo=open&id=WDU20010760811 here] (in Polish). One of the executive acts is the edict of Polish Ministry of Environment passed on 29 November 2002, defining the list of pathogenic organisms, their classifcation and required hermeticity. This list can be obtained [http://isip.sejm.gov.pl/servlet/Search?todo=file&id=WDU20022121798&type=2&name=ATTONY1L here]. Organisms which were source of some of parts we've used in our project (Listeria, Yersinia and Salmonella) are classified to II Category, what means that they are hazardous and might cause severe disease, although there are cures for them present.

Next source of law regulations of work with GMO are European Union directives, especially:

1. directive 90/219/EWG passed on 23 April 1990, regulating limited usage of genetically modified microorganisms
2. directive 98/81/WE passed on 26 October 1998, which is changing the 90/219/EWG directive.

All of our work was in agreement with presented law acts.