Safety and risks

Synthetic biology involves unknown factors and sometimes pathogenic organisms. In our project we have tested the effect of our bacteriocins on pathogenic organisms ( Demonstrate and Results), which calls for some different precautions than when working with non-pathogenic organisms. We also use proteins from a secretory pathway of a toxin called alpha-hemolysin to transport PHB out of E. coli. The transport proteins have no pathogenic effect in a strain of bacteria, which does not produce the toxin, as our strain of E. coli. In order to secrete PHB through the pathway we biofuse a signal peptide from alpha-hemolysin with phasin. As the toxin is not part of the biofused protein, no special precautions are necessary.

We have also thought a lot about the safety of our final product: whether or not it is safe to use and safe for the environment. The results of our investigations can be found on this page, where we talk about working with pathogenic organisms, the problem with the environment and at last making a risk assessment of our project.

Staphylococcus aureus:

• CA-MRSA;USA300
• MSSA:CC398
• ATCC-hVISA

Staphylcoccus aureus (S. aureus) is a commencal, opportunistic pathogen. S. aureus normally lives on some people's skin, nares and pharynx. Any damages on the skin (such as wounds) or mucosal barriers allows the bacteria to interact with the blood, where it spreads to other parts of the body. Many strains of Staphylococcus demonstrate the ability to form biofilm matrices, which makes infections by these strains hard to treat. A biofilm matrix consists of exopolysaccharides, proteins, teichoic acids, lipids, extracellular DNA and the bacteria. The biofilm protects the bacteria which makes them less vulnerable to antibiotics (Arciola et al., 2011, Herman-Bausier et al., 2015). Most places in the world, people have heard of Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). It is divided into two major subgroups; hospital-associated-MRSA (HA-MRSA), and community-associated-MRSA (CA-MRSA) (Arciola et al., 2011). These two terms refer to where the infections are obtained (Herman-Bausier et al., 2015).

Pseudomonas aeruginosa:

• PAO1

P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium, typically found on human skin. P. aeruginosa is found in an estimate of 10-20% of all hospital acquired infections. (Wagner & Iglewski, 2008) P. aeruginosa is intrinsically resistant to a variety of antimicrobials, and it produces a numerous virulence factors, including secreted factors such as elastase, proteases, phospholipase C, hydrogen cyanide etc. (Wagner & Iglewski, 2008) P. aeruginosa is capable of forming biofilms, which is often associated with antimicrobial resistance, and studies indicates that bacteria that grow in biofilms are up to 1000 times more resistant to antimicrobial challenges versus planktonically grown cells. (Wagner & Iglewski, 2008)

Since we perform tests on pathogenic strains of bacteria it is necessary to work in a class II lab, which require special safety precautions, such as nothing can leave the lab and special shoes. But despite even our best efforts to minimize the spread, people could get colonized by potentially harmful bacteria. MRSA is known to colonize the nostrils of the people working with it and they then unknowingly take the bacteria out of the lab and can possibly infect other people.

Ecological perspective

The idea of manipulating microbes into producing materials we desire from waste products can be considered beneficial, as we exclude the harvesting and the depletion of the resources of the Earth. However, the fact that a material is produced in microorganisms, doesn’t mean that the product can’t be ecologically harmful. That is why it is crucial to ensure that materials made from microbes can be degraded, either through a metabolic pathway or a relatively fast chemical decay. The silk and bacteriocins are combined in a protein matrix and does not pose an ecological threat, as proteases or pH in the gut would degrade the silk or bacteriocins.

Traditional plastic polymers are synthesized from fossil materials and are not degradable through metabolic pathways or decay processes that match the disposing rate of plastic into the environment. This leads to accumulation of plastic into the environment, where estimates suggest that 10 % of all produced plastics end up in the marine environment (Barnes, Galgani, Thompson, & Barlaz, 2009). Detrimental effects to the foodweb has been observed as a result of this accumulation (Cole et al. 2013). PHB degrade through metabolic pathways as a carbon source in various natural occuring bacteria. Considering the environment the replacement of traditional plastics with biodegradable versions, reduces the negative impact we currently employ various ecosystems.

Risk assessment

There are several studies on bacteriocins that shows that they do not affect human cells; i.e. the skin- and blood cells. We also know that the bacteriocin Nisin has been used for around 50 years in dairy production and this has not shown negative consequences.

PHB is also already used as a replacement for conventional plastic products, e.g. water bottles and lunch boxes. The synthetic spider silk is both immune neutral, biocompatible and biodegradable and ongoing research shows great potential in different uses of spider silk. (HYPERLINK til kilde: O Tokareva, R L Elíbio, Recombinant DNA production of spider silk.)

The most significant risk that we take is to face the general uncertainty that is present when working with genetically modified organisms. They are still ‘new’ in the world, and some people fear the long term consequences. Other possible damages are that there is no proof of that the use of bacteriocins as a therapeutic treatment will decrease antibiotic resistance. That hypothesis is based on predictions formed by knowledge about bacterial evolution. The use of bacteriocins in therapeutics is new and therefore does not exhibit any conclusive data on how - or if - they will have a detrimental effects on the health of an individual. If bacteriocins become commercially applied, we are left with only speculations of their large-scale impact on various ecosystems. The bacteriocins in Bacto-Aid are incorporated between the silk proteins and are in theory unable to move, but they will have contact with the blood vessels. We do not have any research on whether or not they could come loose and travel with the blood stream and cause an unwanted effect (i.e. immuneresponses) in the human body, e.g. cross the blood-brain barrier or affect the hormonal balance.

Besides the possible biological damage to patients there are possible economical and social damage. Social injustice could potentially be increased since Bacto-Aid and bacteriocins most likely will be more expensive than traditional antibiotics at first. The production price of bacteriocins are lower than the production price of traditional antibiotics, but the sales price will probably be higher due to cost and demand. The pharmaceutical companies that produce the bacteriocins also have to pay for FDA approval and the clinical trials, and these costs have to be earned back when the sales begin. This could potentially lead to a greater distance between the high and low economic classes of the society. It is also likely that the access will be limited at first, until the production has been effected enough for the cost to decrease.

Bacteriocins as therapeutics isn’t thoroughly researched yet and like all new pharmaceutical drugs being tested there is a lack of knowledge about the long term consequences. The biggest problem seems to be that we do not have much research on the effect in vivo. But some research of the use of bacteriocin in vivo in mouse models shows promising results with antimicrobial effect and no harm of the animal. This seems to be promising news for Bacto-Aid. http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/51/6/1365.full