Safety/White List

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Questions or feedback?
Email safety AT igem DOT org!

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This White List is a draft. It is not the final version!

Questions? Contact

  1. Obtain Claudia's feedback on white list
  2. Consult VFDB / protein taxonomies
  3. Format nicely and post
  4. Remove this note.


!  Remember  !

You must Check-In for ANY organism or part that is NOT on the White List. The right-hand column of the table below is only examples of organisms/parts that require a Check-In. If your part/organism is not explicitly listed in the table below, it still requires a Check-In.

Questions? Contact



White List (no Check-In required) Check-In Required
Whole Organisms
  • Risk Group 1 microorganisms
  • Risk Group 2 microorganisms
  • Human and primate cell lines that have been tested and certified free of known pathogens (consult your vendor)
  • Cell lines from plants, fungi, or animals that are not primates (such as CHO cells or plant cells)
  • Human and primate cell lines that may contain pathogens
  • All primary isolated cells (that is, cells taken directly from the body of a multicellular organism)
  • C. elegans, Physcomitrella patens, Drosophila spp.
  • Human subjects in non-invasive experiments, such as surveys (see note at bottom of page)
  • Other multicellular organisms
  • ...and anything not explicitly listed
Parts All Registry parts, except those flagged by Archetype or Safety Committee Registry parts with red flags on
Any part from a Risk Group 3 organism, regardless of its function
Non-protein-coding parts in the following categories:
  • Promoters, RBSes, Terminators
  • Binding sites for transcriptional regulators, endonucleases, and other proteins that bind to DNA
  • Aptamers and catalytic RNAs
  • CRISPR guide RNAs, microRNAs, small interfering RNAs, and short hairpin RNAs that do not target human genes
  • CRISPR guide RNAs, microRNAs, small interfering RNAs, and short hairpin RNAs that target human genes
  • Other non-protein-coding genes
Protein-coding genes from animals, plants, or Risk Group 1 / Risk Group 2 microorganisms, EXCEPT those in the list of "dangerous categories" on the right Protein-coding genes in the following dangerous categories:
  • Virulence factors
  • Factors that help pathogens evade or shut down the immune system
  • Factors that help pathogens halt the host's DNA/RNA replication, transcription, or translation
  • Factors that regulate the immune system, such as cytokines and interferons
  • Proteins that are toxic to humans, or that catalyze a chemical reaction producing a toxic molecule
...and anything not explicitly listed


X   Banned Organisms/Parts   X

Some of the most dangerous organisms and parts are not allowed in iGEM, even with a Check-In:

  • Whole organisms from Risk Group 3
  • Whole organisms from Risk Group 4
  • Parts from Risk Group 4 organisms

If you find that you want to use a banned organism/part, you should redesign your project to use a substitute from a safer Risk Group. Consult your advisor or contact us at to get some advice on choosing a substitute.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What if I'm not sure whether my organism/part requires a Check-In?

    Ask us! Contact safety AT igem DOT org. Alternatively, because the Check-In form is short, you could choose to send a Check-In even if you are unsure.

  • How do I find out the Risk Group of an organism?

    There are several reliable resources you can check, listed in the Risk Group Guide.

  • What if the White List changes during the summer?

    As we learn more, we might add things to the White List, but we will not remove things from the White List until after the Jamboree each year. So, if something is on the White List now, it will stay on the White List for the whole summer.

  • What exactly counts as a "whole organism"?

    For the purposes of this White List, a "whole organism" is an entire cell or multicellular organism, whether alive or dead. Intact, isolated viral genomes are also considered "whole organism", because many viral genomes can be pathogenic if they enter a host cell, even without the viral capsule. (Isolated non-viral genomes are considered parts.)

  • We are going to handle an organism in lab, but we will only extract some DNA from it using PCR -- we won't use it as our chassis. Do we still have to send a Check-In?

    Yes. The Check-In requirement applies to all organisms and all parts that you will handle in the lab, even if they will not be part of your final project.

  • Our project is to detect a dangerous organism. In order to test our project, of course we need to handle the dangerous organism (or parts of it), but it will not be part of what we build. Do we still have to send a Check-In?

    Yes. The Check-In requirement applies to all organisms and all parts that you will handle in the lab, even if they will not be part of your final project.

  • What is a virulence factor?

    "Virulence factors refer to the properties (i.e., gene products) that enable a microorganism to establish itself on or within a host of a particular species and enhance its potential to cause disease. Virulence factors include bacterial toxins, cell surface proteins that mediate bacterial attachment, cell surface carbohydrates and proteins that protect a bacterium, and hydrolytic enzymes that may contribute to the pathogenicity of the bacterium." -- Virulence Factors of Pathogenic Bacteria

  • We are going to use a lot of parts. May we combine them on a single Check-In?

    If the parts all come from the same parent organism, you may combine them on a single Check-In. (If you are using multiple whole organisms, please do a separate Check-In for each one.)

  • How can I find out if my cell line is free of pathogens? What pathogens should I be concerned about?

    If you bought the cells from a vendor or a culture collection, then you can consult their catalog. Many catalogs will list safety and pathogen information -- if you cannot find it, contact the vendor. If you received the cells from another lab, you should find out where they originally came from.

    Cell lines can contain harmful viruses. Sometimes, the viral genome is integrated into the cell's genome. Most viruses have a limited "host range", which means that they can only infect closely related species. Therefore, viruses living in a human or monkey cell line are likely to be dangerous to humans, but viruses living in an insect cell line probably cannot infect humans. If you work with a cell line from humans or other primates, you should check to see if it contains viruses or viral genomic DNA. Viruses have Risk Group numbers, so if your cell line contains a virus, you must handle it at the Biosafety Level that is appropriate for the highest Risk group virus it contains.

    Some viruses to look for: HBV (hepatitis B virus), HCV (hepatitis C virus), HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) 1 & 2, HTLV (human T-lymphotropic virus) 1 & 2, CMV (cytomegalovirus).

  • What about experiments on human subjects, such as surveys or software user-testing?

    Human experimental subjects are not covered under the iGEM safety program. If you conduct any experiments with human subjects (including non-invasive work such as surveys or software user-testing), you must find out the rules and regulations that cover those experiments in your country / at your university. Some experiments and surveys might require the approval of a review board on human experimental subjects, and some might not require any approval.

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