Team:JiangnanU China/Safety
Safety
As a new subject emerging in the 21st century, synthetic biology has broad application prospects in the
field of life science.But the safety involved in synthetic biology is a very important issue that
requires
the attention of every responsible iGEM team.
As a responsible iGEM team, JiangnanU_China team tries to avoid possible adverse effects on the environment and human beings during the experiment,through reasonable project design, standardized experimental operation and strict adherence to the Do Not Release Policy.
The following is our efforts in laboratory safety.
As a responsible iGEM team, JiangnanU_China team tries to avoid possible adverse effects on the environment and human beings during the experiment,through reasonable project design, standardized experimental operation and strict adherence to the Do Not Release Policy.
The following is our efforts in laboratory safety.
View all
1. Safe Project Design
1.1 Chassis microorganism
The E. coli BL21 used in our experiment is one of the most commonly used engineered bacteria in the
laboratory. It is on the white list given by the iGEM committee. Even if they flee, they will not
survive，with no adverse impact on the environment or the community.
1.2 Phage
The bacteriophage used in the experiment, T4 bacteriophage, is on the white list given by the iGEM
committee. It is very safe and does not cause any harm to human beings. We have been very careful
during
the course of the experiment to try to reduce the risk of phages infecting other normal E. coli
bacteria
in the laboratory.
1.3 Genetic Components
The inducible promoters, fluorescent protein gene, resistant protein gene, toxic protein gene and
other
gene components used in gene circuits come from E. coli BL21 genome or the existing gene component
library,
which will not cause safety problems.
1.4 Kill Switch
The bacteriophage resistant strain we constructed may be used in industrial fermentation in the
future,
which will significantly improve the resistance of industrial fermentation strains against typical
bacteriophages. If the strain is misused, it is likely to promote the evolution of typical phages
which
are common in our lives. Once the evolution is unable to prevent the stage, will bring huge losses
to
the fermentation industry. At the same time, the bacteriophage resistant components we used combined
with the cold-resistant, heat-resistant and hyperosmotic components built by the previous team, it
is
possible to create superbugs. Therefore, we introduced the toxic protein used by the previous team
as a
suicide device to control the life activities of bacteria to ensure the safety of the project.
2. Safe Lab
2.1 Standard Experimental Operation
Before carrying out the experiment, all the experimental personnel have carried out strict
experimental safety training and assessment. Only after passing the assessment can they use the
laboratory instruments. During molecular experiments, we need to perform electrophoretic validation
of DNA and protein expression, which involves exposure to low toxic chemicals such as GlodView, MBA,
and SDS. Therefore, during agarose gel electrophoresis and sds-page electrophoresis, we all wear
rubber gloves, respirators and other protective tools as required, and strictly control the use and
discharge of reagents.
When conducting bacteriophage-related experiments, we immediately sterilized the used experimental tools with high temperature, high pressure and humidity to prevent the escape of bacteriophages and adverse effects on other E. coli in the laboratory. After the experiments, we will conduct high temperature, high pressure, humidity and heat sterilization treatment for all the experimental waste that needs to be discharged, and disinfect and tidy the used workbench to prevent bacteria or phages from escaping.
When conducting bacteriophage-related experiments, we immediately sterilized the used experimental tools with high temperature, high pressure and humidity to prevent the escape of bacteriophages and adverse effects on other E. coli in the laboratory. After the experiments, we will conduct high temperature, high pressure, humidity and heat sterilization treatment for all the experimental waste that needs to be discharged, and disinfect and tidy the used workbench to prevent bacteria or phages from escaping.
2.2 Professional Safety Supervisors
Rao Zhiming, professor of biotechnology at Jiangnan University, is responsible for managing the
safety issues of our entire project and serves as a safety supervisor. He has been engaged in the
fermentation industry for a long time and is responsible for laboratory safety. He is very familiar
with the strains used in our project and the operation in the experiment process, and gives us a lot
of practical guidance for the whole project.
2.3 Strict Laboratory Management
All experiments in the project were carried out in strict accordance with laboratory rules. The
experimental consumables shall be purchased by specially-assigned persons, and relevant equipment
such as PCR instrument and ultra-clean table shall be managed by designated persons, and
registration shall be conducted for each use.
2.4 Safety Lecture
Before the experiments, we invited several teachers to give us safety lectures, with the purpose of
improving the safety awareness of the experiment and standardizing the operation of the experiments.
3. No Release Policy
As a responsible iGEM team, we strictly abide by the no release policy. The wet experiment project
is only carried out in the school laboratory and is limited to the experimental stage. No GMOs or
GMOs products are released or deployed outside the laboratory.
