Team:RHIT/Safety

Researcher, Public, and Environmental Safety

The Rose-Hulman iGEM team has considered safety a top priority since the early stages of project development. As a result, projects that could pose a significant risk were dismissed. Our laboratory space is considered a Basic Biosafety Level 1 laboratory but it does have a few characteristics of higher categories. It has controlled access, biohazard signs and waste disposal bins, and an autoclave. Other safety features are demonstrated below.

All participating students received standard safety and good laboratory practice training as part of their academic laboratory course-work. The Instructor provided more specific safety instruction, as necessary. Proper attire was worn at all times in the laboratory. Gloves and glasses were donned as warranted. The only organisms used in our project are common laboratory strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BY4741 and BY4742) and Escherichia coli (NEB5alpa), which are both considered Risk Group 1 microorganisms according to the Laboratory Biosafety Manual published by the World Health Organization. Group 1 organisms are defined as “no or low individual and community risk, a microorganism that is unlikely to cause human or animal disease.” Aseptic technique is used whenever working with these organisms and any contaminated wastes are sterilized by autoclaving or destroyed by commercial pyrolysis. All laboratory chemicals are stored, handled and used as recommended by the manufacturer, and they are disposed of in accordance with national, state, and local regulations and recommendations. The laboratory space and contents are not accessible by unauthorized personnel. All microbial strains, including bacteria rendered antibiotic resistant by transformation, harbor nutritional auxotrophies or other mutations that mitigate the risk of their growing outside of the laboratory or causing disease in healthy humans or animals. Furthermore, none of our recombinant constructs produce any known contagion or toxin.

BioBrick Safety

None of the BioBrick parts utilized or constructed are known to pose any safety issues. Furthermore, they are well contained by the microbes that harbor them. The risk of unintended transfer to any other organism is minimal.

Biosafety Group

Rose-Hulman does not have a biosafety group, committee or review board other than an Animal Care and Use Committee, which oversees animal research. Safety training and laboratory waste disposal are facilitated by an Environmental Health and Safety Officer, who also serves as a resource for faculty and students.

Future iGEM Safety

The possibility of designing mutually dependent strain/vector systems for routine manipulation and storage of BioBrick parts should be explored.