Planning: In order to reduce risks in our project, we used a low risk chassis; the common Saccharomyces cerevisae, otherwise known as baker’s and brewer’s yeast. S.cerevisiae poses little to no risks to humans and other organisms, and is very unlikely to disrupt an ecosystem. Furthermore, we engineered our yeast to produce amylase enzymes, a very common type of enzyme found in a wide variety of environments around us, from human saliva to soil. S.cerevisiae also naturally produces a small amount of amylase enzymes, making them well suited for producing the amylase enzyme. Lab Safety: When in the lab, we followed standard lab safety practices, to prevent contamination or injuries.
-Wearing gloves, goggles, and aprons -Disinfecting the workspace -Following chemical safety procedures -Maintaining a neat and well organized work environment -Using bleach to sterilize cultures after use -Keeping food and drink out of the lab
Our lab work was conducted in two labs, the Baltimore Underground Science Space Community Lab from July to August 4 and the Biology lab at Stone Bridge High School thereafter. The same safety measures were taken at both labs. Lab work was supervised by Dr. Laun at BUGSS and Dr. Cascio at Stone Bridge.
Product Safety
We foresee our project being used in a closed wastewater treatment system. We plan to test our genetically modified organisms for any adverse effects before taking them outside of the contained lab environment, to ensure there is no risk to surrounding ecosystems or human health (see Project Design for more information on our pre-design risk assessment.)There are several options to minimize risks to the environment:
-Implement a kill switch that activates when there is no more starch in the environment. This will prevent the cells from escaping the plant. (see Project Design for more information on the kill switch we designed.) -Contain the cells in a controlled bioreactor, to prevent the genetically engineered yeast from escaping into the environment.
