Difference between revisions of "Safety/Risk Groups"
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| + | <h4> iGEM teams are not permitted to use Risk Group 3 or 4 organisms, or to work in Safety Level 3 or 4 laboratories.</h4> | ||
<p>Microorganisms are classified into four <b>Risk Groups</b>, and biological laboratories are classified into four corresponding <b>Safety Levels</b>. Risk Group 1 contains non-pathogenic organisms like yeast and E. coli K-12. The majority of iGEM teams use only Risk Group 1 organisms. Some teams use Risk Group 2 organisms. </p> | <p>Microorganisms are classified into four <b>Risk Groups</b>, and biological laboratories are classified into four corresponding <b>Safety Levels</b>. Risk Group 1 contains non-pathogenic organisms like yeast and E. coli K-12. The majority of iGEM teams use only Risk Group 1 organisms. Some teams use Risk Group 2 organisms. </p> | ||
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| + | <h3>What if we want to use a Risk Group 3 or 4 organism?</h3> | ||
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| + | <p>Don't do it. Find a substitute.</p> | ||
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| + | <p>Risk Groups 3 and 4 include the most serious and deadly pathogens in the world. They require extremely stringent safety precautions and specialized lab facilities. There is no compelling reason for any iGEM team to choose to work with Risk Group 3 or 4 organisms, when instead you could choose from the vast array of interesting project topics that use only Risk Group 1 or 2 organisms.</p> | ||
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| + | <p>Using safer substitutes for dangerous organisms is entirely appropriate for iGEM. For example, the 2013 Paris Bettencourt team studied tuberculosis. <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> is a Risk Group 3 organism, so for safety reasons, <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Paris_Bettencourt/Human_Practice/Safety">they substituted a related Risk Group 2 organism (<i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i>) in their experiments</a>. These experiments were a proof of principle for their project ideas.</p> | ||
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Revision as of 15:42, 9 January 2017
Risk Groups
iGEM teams are not permitted to use Risk Group 3 or 4 organisms, or to work in Safety Level 3 or 4 laboratories.
Microorganisms are classified into four Risk Groups, and biological laboratories are classified into four corresponding Safety Levels. Risk Group 1 contains non-pathogenic organisms like yeast and E. coli K-12. The majority of iGEM teams use only Risk Group 1 organisms. Some teams use Risk Group 2 organisms.
| Risk Group 1 | Risk Group 2 | Risk Group 3 | Risk Group 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examples | E. coli K-12, S. cerevisiae (yeast), Lactobacillus, B. subtilis | Streptococcus, Herpes virus, most mammalian cell lines | Yersinia pestis (black plague), HIV, SARS virus | Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Lassa virus |
| Description | Risk Group 1 organisms do not cause disease in healthy adult humans. | Risk Group 2 organisms can cause disease in humans, but the disease is treatable or preventable. | Risk Group 3 organisms cause serious disease in humans. Treatments and vaccines for these diseases may exist. | Risk Group 4 organisms cause deadly disease in humans, and they can easily travel from one person to another. No treatments or vaccines exist for these diseases. |
| Lab Safety Level | Safety Level 1 | Safety Level 2 | Safety Level 3 | Safety Level 4 |
| Typical Lab Photo |  |
 |
 |
 |
| Typical Work Area | Open bench | Biosafety cabinet / laminar flow hood | Class 3 biosafety cabinet | Full isolation suits |
| Permitted in iGEM | Not permitted in iGEM | |||
What if we want to use a Risk Group 3 or 4 organism?
Don't do it. Find a substitute.
Risk Groups 3 and 4 include the most serious and deadly pathogens in the world. They require extremely stringent safety precautions and specialized lab facilities. There is no compelling reason for any iGEM team to choose to work with Risk Group 3 or 4 organisms, when instead you could choose from the vast array of interesting project topics that use only Risk Group 1 or 2 organisms.
Using safer substitutes for dangerous organisms is entirely appropriate for iGEM. For example, the 2013 Paris Bettencourt team studied tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a Risk Group 3 organism, so for safety reasons, they substituted a related Risk Group 2 organism (Mycobacterium smegmatis) in their experiments. These experiments were a proof of principle for their project ideas.
