General FAQ

Brief introduction and welcome

Hey there! We are glad you are visiting our iGEM competition wiki. Before getting to know our project and its different sections, we would like to explain to you some key words that will help you understand better what our project is about and what Synthetic Biology means. Let the ride start!

Here is a short FAQ we prepared for you:

What is Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering?
Biotechnology (Biotech) is defined as “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2). Modern usage of Biotechnology also entails genetic engineering.
Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome using biotechnology. New DNA is inserted in the host’s genome. This DNA is naturally found in other organisms. An organism derived from genetic engineering is called a genetically modified organism (GMO).

What is Synthetic Biology?
There is not a clear concept of what the term “synthetic biology” (SynBio) covers. It is currently been discussed in the conference of the parties to the convention on biological diversity in Korea. Although there is not an official concept yet, it is considered to be the second generation of biotechnology. It consists in adding a characteristic that does not normally exist in nature to an organism’s genome. This meaning often overlaps to the one of Biotechnology. This is the main reason why scientists are trying to define if synthetic biology is similar enough to biotechnology; they want to know if new regulations should be made to moderate synbio, or the ones made to regulate biotechnology are just as effective.

We developed a copper biosensor using a modified E. coli. Is our biosensor a product of modern biotechnology, or synthetic biology?
Due to the lack of an official definition, this question can’t be accurately decided. Our bacterium was inserted with two kinds of color genes: green and orange. The green color gene is normally found in nature, but the orange color gene does not; this difficults the possible classification. The classification of our bacteria into biotechnology or synthetic biology is therefore subjective.

Are you using artificial genes that do not exist in nature?
Yes, the orange fluorescent genes are artificial as they are not normally found in nature. The green one, on the other hand, does exist normally in fire flies and marine organisms.

In order to evaluate the risk implied in our copper biosensor, we used a Latinamerican guide named “Guide for the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified organisms” (ERA). Is the ERA approach we are using appropriate to evaluate a product of synbio? Yes? Why so?
Yes it is, because it takes into account all the possible hazards that can occur inside a laboratory. It also takes into account if there is a logical causal connection. The ERA was developed by 14 expert scientists as an alternative method of doing a coherent risk assessment. We chose it because we found it simpler than the one proposed by the Cartagena Protocol.

Why is it important for society?
The normal risk assessment proposed by the Cartagena Protocol requires the investigator to take into account hazards that are not realistic. The one proposed by the ERA guide enables the investigator to do a coherent risk assessment by simpler methods The creation of the bacterium was the starting point of a series of activities focused in improving public perception towards biotech and Synbio.