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Safety

Safety in synthetic biology involves important responsibilities to not just researchers, but the public and the environment. Ethical synthetic biology research must consider all potential outcomes of the research and its methods.

Laboratory Safety

All laboratory workers are required to complete an extensive lab training program involving both conceptual knowledge and experience working within the lab. Our program ensures that all lab members are comfortable and competent in managing biosafety risks.

Escherichia Coli strain K-12, from which hmp was isolated, is well-understood, frequently studied in microbiology laboratories, and non-pathogenic. It does not have the ability to reproduce effectively in the human gut, and would pose little risk if accidentally released.

Originally, our team explored two genes that did not make it into our submitted parts. The attempted isolation of genes from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a risk level two organism, required additional safety considerations beyond our experiences in previous years. During the work to isolate these genes from P. aeruginosa, the laboratory worked under biosafety level two conditions, with only workers who had received additional training in the heightened risks allowed to work. While thorough sterilization and containment procedures meant that workers should not be exposed, they additionally maintained good health outside the lab. P. aeruginosa poses almost no risk of infection to healthy adults, and the genes were specifically isolated from a less-virulent strain, PA01. In addition, P. aeruginosa is a soil bacterium widely found in the environment that poses little risk to the public.

Chassis and Parts

Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142 belongs to an essential group of cyanobacteria for nitrogen fixation in diverse marine environments. We believe it would make an ideal chassis for future studies involving our work because of its established role in the nitrogen cycle and its ability to transform products of our parts into ammonia. In addition, it is safe for introduction to humans and the environment.

Part BBa_K1370000, containing the hmp gene isolated from E. Coli, functions in the reduction of nitric oxide to a nitrate ion, which has no danger to humans or the environment. Similar nitrogen fixing processes are essential to all life and constantly performed by prokaryotes in the nitrogen cycle.