Team:NEAU-Harbin/safety.html

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safety

Q1：What approach do you use to address the safety questions? And how do you evaluate your approach?

A: It is well known that transgenic cells with a selective marker such as hygromycin resistance gene can be potentially risky. In our project, we designed a visual gene operation system by which the selective marker gene can be deleted through homologous recombination. So our project can provide a safe heterologous gene expression system in A. niger.

Q2: 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? If no, which specific biosafety rules or guidelines do you have to consider
in your country?

A: Yes, we have the biosafety committee in our university. We have discussed our project with the biosafety officer. He thought that our project can be performed in microbiology lab of college of Life Science College. He emphasized that we must follow the rules of "Safety in the Biology Laboratory of NEAU". He also recommended that we should properly dispose biowastes, such as E. coil and A. niger cells.

Q3: 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?

A: We suggest that iGEM should establish a filter system based on known databases, so the highly dangerous genes can be less utilized. And iGEM should have their own inspection department which can make regular check-ups. Lectures regarding biosafety are also encouraged in iGEM Jamboree.

Q4：Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues? If yes,did you document these issues in the Registry? how did you manage to handle the safety issue? How could other teams
learn from your experience?

A：Our BioBrick parts do not raise any safety issues.

Q5: Your team used the Aspergillus niger,will it cause any safety issue?

A:As one of the most widely used fungus species in food industry,Aspergillus niger has a long tradition in the production of enzymes and organic acids. Many of these products have obtained GRAS(generally regarded as safe) grade,and they are widely used in biotechnology for the production of food ingredients,so there is no need to worry about the A.niger's safety problem.

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