Team:Paris Bettencourt

From 2012.igem.org

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<div style="position:absolute;left:15px;top:255px;z-index:100"><img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/0/04/New_PB2012.png width="50"> <sub>This sign indicating new results after the European Jamboree.</sub></div>
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<p>During previous years’ competitions, many iGEM teams have developed projects that propose the application of Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEO) in natural environments. However, issues of biosafety continue to complicate and constrain the use of GEOs outside the lab. A primary concern is the Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) of synthetic genes to natural populations. Various strategies have been developed to address this problem, providing varying levels of containment. However, the substantial elimination of HGT risks remains difficult or perhaps impossible.<br>
 
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<div id="grouptitle">How Safe is Safe Enough?</div>
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Synthetic biologists, and iGEM teams in particular, design Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEOs) to benefit people and communities around the world. However, many proposed applications necessarily involve the deployment of GEOs in natural environments. These dreams can never be made real without technical, legal and ethical guidelines for the use of GEOs outside the lab. Our project addresses this serious need from our perspective as safety bioengineers, citizens and humans.
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<br><br>  We have developed the <b>bWARE containment module</b> to substantially reduce the risk of Horizontal Gene Trasfer (HGT) while remaining compatible with existing iGEM devices. A GEO may first perform its beneficial function during a programmed delay. Then our system activates, irreversibly degrading DNA throughout the population, leaving no genetic information behind. Multiple cooperative systems provide redundancy against inevitable mutations or external stresses.
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Our project aims to:
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<br><br><b>Human practice considerations</b> influenced every stage of our design process. Given different biosafety modules that may be used singly or in combination, what are the best practices for associating specific safety systems with specific applications? Given that no biosafety system can completely eliminate the risk of HGT, how safe is safe enough? Who should decide when the benefits of GEOs outweigh the risks, and what information do they need? We have collected and indexed existing iGEM biosafety projects. We have engaged expert and public opinion to develop a new proposal for qualitative and quantitatve documentation of BioBrick safety devices.
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<li>Raise the issue of biosafety, and advocate the discerning use of biosafety circuits in future iGEM projects as a requirement</li>
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<br><br>  Biosafety is an exciting design challenge, an essential enabling technology for synthetic biology, and a fundamental ethical obligation of all bioengineers. We expect that modular containment systems like bWARE will be standard ware in the next generation of iGEM projects.
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<li>Evaluate the risk of HGT in different SynBio applications</li>
 
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<li>Develop a new, improved containment system to expand the range of environments where GEOs can be used safely.</li>
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To do so, we:
 
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<li>Engaged the general public and scientific community through debate  </li>
 
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<li>Raised the question about how we can regulate this practices</li>
 
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<li>Compiled a parts page of safety circuits in the registry </li>
 
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<li>Relied on three levels of containment :
 
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<li>Physical containment with alginate capsules</li>
 
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<li>Semantic containment using an amber suppressor system</li>
 
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<li>An improved killswitch featuring delayed population-level suicide through complete genome degradation.</li></ul></li>
 
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We will strive to make our system as robust against mutations as possible.
 
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<img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/e/e0/ParisB_Medal.gif width=15><sub><b>World Championship 2nd Runner Up</b></sub> <br> <br>
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<img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/e/e0/ParisB_Medal.gif width=15><sub><b>World Championship Best Environment Project</b></sub> <br> <br>
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<img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/e/e0/ParisB_Medal.gif width=15><sub>European Jamboree Gold Medal</sub> <br>  <br> 
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<img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/e/e0/ParisB_Medal.gif width=15><sub>European Jamboree Safety Commendation</sub>
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<h3>Go to</h3><br>
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<center><a href=https://2012.igem.org/Team:Paris_Bettencourt/Achievements> <img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/0/0c/ParisB_achievement_icon.png width=150></a></center>
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<center><a href=https://2012.igem.org/Team:Paris_Bettencourt/Overview> <img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/e/e8/ParisB_project_icon.png width=150></a></center>
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<center><a href=https://2012.igem.org/Team:Paris_Bettencourt/Human_Practice/Frontpage> <img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/0/05/ParisB_human_icon.png width=150></a></center>
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<center><a href=https://2012.igem.org/Team:Paris_Bettencourt/Modeling> <img src=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/8/82/ParisB_Assessment.png width=150></a></center>
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<h3>Quick Link</h3>
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<h3>Quick Links</h3>
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<li class="first"><a href="https://2012.igem.org">iGEM 2012</a></li>
<li class="first"><a href="https://2012.igem.org">iGEM 2012</a></li>
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<li class="first"><a href="http://partsregistry.org/Main_Page">Parts Registry</a></li>
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<li class="first"><a href="http://www.cri-paris.org/en/cri/">The Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity</a></li>
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Latest revision as of 19:20, 9 November 2012


iGEM Paris Bettencourt 2012

This sign indicating new results after the European Jamboree.


How Safe is Safe Enough?

Synthetic biologists, and iGEM teams in particular, design Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEOs) to benefit people and communities around the world. However, many proposed applications necessarily involve the deployment of GEOs in natural environments. These dreams can never be made real without technical, legal and ethical guidelines for the use of GEOs outside the lab. Our project addresses this serious need from our perspective as safety bioengineers, citizens and humans.

We have developed the bWARE containment module to substantially reduce the risk of Horizontal Gene Trasfer (HGT) while remaining compatible with existing iGEM devices. A GEO may first perform its beneficial function during a programmed delay. Then our system activates, irreversibly degrading DNA throughout the population, leaving no genetic information behind. Multiple cooperative systems provide redundancy against inevitable mutations or external stresses.

Human practice considerations influenced every stage of our design process. Given different biosafety modules that may be used singly or in combination, what are the best practices for associating specific safety systems with specific applications? Given that no biosafety system can completely eliminate the risk of HGT, how safe is safe enough? Who should decide when the benefits of GEOs outweigh the risks, and what information do they need? We have collected and indexed existing iGEM biosafety projects. We have engaged expert and public opinion to develop a new proposal for qualitative and quantitatve documentation of BioBrick safety devices.

Biosafety is an exciting design challenge, an essential enabling technology for synthetic biology, and a fundamental ethical obligation of all bioengineers. We expect that modular containment systems like bWARE will be standard ware in the next generation of iGEM projects.






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