Difference between revisions of "Team:UPMC-Paris/Safety"

Summary :

In IGEM, safety is taken seriously. In the lab we have used some dangerous products such as gel red for the electrophoresis, so we had special consideration regarding safety issues.

Safety Training and Lab Rules :

For our project we safely used strains of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli.
All researchers and experiments have been trained in applicable lab safety to insure that no bacteria are inadvertently released into the environment.
During either internships or through classes we had at school, we received proper training on safety in the lab. Before we started our experiments for IGEM competition, we received as a team an additional safety training, after what each of us received a detailed video on safety in the lab in case we wanted to refresh our memory. Our safety training included topics such as:

1. Rules about protocols in the lab,
2. Protective clothing and equipment (lab coat and if necessary, gloves and googles),
3. Waste management (biohazard, defiled glassware, …),
4. Chemicals products handling and their conservation according to their labels,
5. Use of various machines (open bench, chemical fume hood, ...) and
6. Emergency procedures.

So, we learned measures to take in case of spills, burns, injury, different types of danger in the lab, conditions to safely perform experiments and keep the lab area clean for the sake of everybody’s experiments.

Organism used :

E. coli DH5alpha
Risk group: 1
This microorganism is not dangerous to healthy adult humans.
Risk Group Source
Strain came from another IGEM team, IONIS Paris
This E. Coli strain is not pathogenic, and was mutated for research purposes.
Genotype: fhuA2 Δ (argF-lacZ)U169 phoA glnV44 Φ 80 Δ (lacZ)M15 gyrA96 recA1 relA1 endA1 thi-1 hsdR17
As Escherichia coli and yeasts, Bacillus subtilis is frequently used as a genetic tool. B. subtilis is also an excellent model for the study of pathogenic bacteria.

Bacillus subtilis HB5613
Risk group: 1
This microorganism do not cause disease in healthy adult humans.
Risk Group Source
Strain came from Helmann Lab, Cornell University
Genotype : CU1065 yfmC::mls dhbA::spc
Source

Bacillus subtilis HB5624
Risk group: 1
This microorganism do not cause disease in healthy adult humans.
Risk Group Source
Strain came from from Helmann Lab, Cornell University
Genotype : CU1065 feuA::spc [DHB(G)⁺]
Source

Bacillus subtilis BSU9716
Risk group: 1
This microorganism is not dangerous to healthy adult humans.
Risk Group Source
Strain came from Philips Marburg University
Genotype : B.s.168 ΔfhuD::spec200 ΔyxeB::cm10  ΔyfiY::ery2 ΔyfmC::kan10

Biological components :

None of the biological components worked with for iGEM competion were rated higher than biosafety level 1. Nevertheless, proper exposure precautions were still taken in the lab while manipulating reagents such as GelRed, or reading fels with UV light.