Team:USP-UNESP-Brazil/Safety
From 2012.igem.org
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Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of researcher, public or environmental safety?
Our projects use parts that do not raise any particular safety issues different from the ones that are already manage in the laboratories involved, the material is sterilized before being discard. All the team worked using the biosafety protocols and the protection equipment already established in these laboratories.
Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues?
We used the Cre recombinase enzyme. The Cre recombinase isn't a threat by itself, but its action can increase some risks, since it's a recombination enzyme. Its action raises the probability of mutations and recombinations in the bacterial DNA. Anyway, all material is sterilize before being discard so no genetic modified microorganism will be left free.
Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution? If yes, what does your local biosafety group think about your project?
There are biosafety groups in all the four institutes where the laboratories are located. Although there’s no special concern about the safety of our project, the use of safety standard protocols makes sure that any potential danger is minimized at is lowest level.
Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?
The use of specific bar code DNA and other signatures could make easier to discover possible leaks or contamination in the environment.
Use this page to answer the questions on the safety page.