The Rose-Hulman iGEM team has kept safety a top priority since the very early stages of the project. As a result, any project that might have posed as a significant threat to safety was quickly dismissed. During the planning phase of Checkmate, team members brainstormed lab procedures as well as guidelines for plasmid construction to provide a safe and effective workplace. The team used yeast and E.coli in their project, which are both considered Risk Group 1 microorganisms according to the Laboratory Biosafety Manual by the World Health Organization. A Risk Group 1 organism is defined as “(no or low individual and community risk) A microorganism that is unlikely to cause human or animal disease.” The team’s lab is a Basic-Biosafety Level 1 lab, but contains a few aspects from the other categories. The lab does have controlled access, special waste disposal bins, and some biohazard signs. The lab is a school lab that is shared by many professors and students during the school year. These safety practices are rarely in use, and are more of a precaution.Some of the lab methods require using potentially hazardous chemicals that could cause injury to any one of the researchers. Another potential safety risk for researchers results from dealing with microbial agents. While it is unlikely that a researcher would develop an infection from the strains he or she is working with, contagion is still a possible safety concern. To combat these risks, the team was sure to follow all safety protocols, from aseptic techniques to complete labeling. Proper lab attire was worn at all times in the lab. Procedures such as these were taught by the team’s advisor while in the lab.
When considering public safety, it is important to consider every aspect and intermediate step of the project. In Checkmate, the strains of yeast used contain a knockout for an essential amino acid. As a result of this knockout, it is highly unlikely that this yeast could ever escape the lab and be released into the public. However, not all the species involved in the project are so easily controlled. The selection scheme for maintaining the plasmid in E. Coli involved providing the bacteria with antibiotic resistance. In an age where multiple drug resistant bacteria are on the rise and responsible for killing several thousand people a year, the potential of this bacteria escaping and passing this plasmid on to another bacteria cannot be ignored. When handling E. Coli, the team used aseptic techniques and sterilized their equipment.
Similar to the public safety concerns, most of the environmental safety concerns stem from chemicals or biological agents leaving the lab and being exposed to the environment outside the lab. Improper disposal or contamination of the environment by a couple of Checkmate’s chemicals could prove deleterious to outside environments. Once again, sterilization and aseptic techniques prevented any calamity.
To ensure the safety of our BioBricks, we consulted the BioBrick standard for regulation of restriction sites when designed the DNA sequence. In addition, each of our yeast strains has an auxotrophic selection scheme; it is unable to make a crucial amino acid. Unless it is fed this amino acid, it cannot survive. This means that, should our yeast strain escape from the lab, it would not survive long in the wild. By characterizing the BioBricks to their fullest potential, it will allow other participates of iGEM to use our BioBricks in their intended way, optimizing the efficiency of their projects.
Due to having a small biology program, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology does not have a biosafety group. Instead, safety procedures are integrated into classes by professors. The United States of America has many biosafety rules about working with human cells, but projects that work without human cells, such as Checkmate, are of little concern to the country.
Future iGEM teams can be safe by following appropriate lab safety procedures. When considering their project, future iGEM teams need to be aware that they are creating something new, and should proceed with caution, always keeping safety at the forefront. Specifically, one way to be sure that iGEM projects cannot be a danger to the public or the environment is to include some form of self-destruct. This would make the cells unable to live in a non-lab environment. The DNA could be degenerative over time, or a strain could be dependent on a vital nutrient only found in a laboratory setting.
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