Safety

Laboratory Safety

The safety of laboratory personnel and the surrounding environment is paramount in any research setting. This principle is particularly crucial in our iGEM project. Our team operates in a biosafety level 1 laboratory, an environment well-suited to the requirements of our experiments, ensuring safety while facilitating groundbreaking research. We adhere strictly to the iGEM competition's safety and security guidelines, underscoring our commitment to high safety standards.

Chemical Storage in the Laboratory

Proper chemical management is essential for ensuring laboratory safety. All chemical reagents and substances are meticulously categorized in our lab based on their potential hazards and usage. Hazardous reagents are stored in designated safety cabinets with appropriate ventilation and locks. Each cabinet is clearly labeled with warning signs to alert team members to the potential risks. Additionally, we maintain an up-to-date inventory system that tracks all chemicals, ensuring that any handling or disposal follows the recommended safety procedures. Regular audits are conducted to verify that all substances are stored in compliance with safety regulations, minimizing the risk of accidental exposure or chemical reactions.

Laboratory Environment and Facilities

Our laboratory is designed to support a safe and efficient research environment. We routinely collaborate with our institution's safety committee to inspect and maintain our facilities, ensuring compliance with the latest safety standards. The lab is equipped with safety features, including emergency showers, eyewash stations, and fire extinguishers strategically placed throughout the space. Adequate ventilation systems are installed to prevent the accumulation of hazardous fumes, and all workspaces are kept clean and organized to reduce the risk of accidents.

Safety Training for Laboratory Personnel

All team members must undergo Comprehensive safety training before they engage in laboratory work. Under the guidance of experienced staff and educators, team members undergo rigorous training sessions that cover fundamental safety knowledge and experimental procedures. This training encompasses the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), emergency response protocols, and the safe handling and disposal of chemicals and biological materials. Our Principal Investigator, Nianhui Zhang, who brings over 27 years of teaching experience, plays a pivotal role in reinforcing these safety practices. He ensures that all team members are proficient in safety protocols, fostering a culture of safety awareness that permeates every aspect of our research activities.

SCU-China VersaTobacco

Biosafety

Maturity and Safety of CRISPR-Cas9 Technology: Focus on HQT Gene CRISPR-Cas9 technology has become an essential tool for plant gene editing, demonstrating outstanding precision and efficiency. It allows for precise targeting of specific genes, enabling effective gene knockouts and significantly enhancing our understanding of plant biology. Compared to ZFNs and TALENs, CRISPR-Cas9 offers higher specificity and cutting efficiency.

Recent advancements, such as high-fidelity Cas9 enzymes, have reduced off-target effects, ensuring the safe application of genetically modified plants in agriculture. In our project, we aim to use CRISPR-Cas9 to knock out the hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HQT) gene in plants. This gene is crucial for secondary metabolism, and its knockout may provide insights into metabolic pathways, potentially improving crop resistance and economic value.

Although CRISPR-Cas9 technology brings significant advantages, safety concerns regarding environmental impact must be addressed. Our gene editing work will be conducted in a controlled laboratory environment to minimize the risk of unintended release into natural ecosystems.

To further ensure safety, we will monitor potential issues and strictly confine the modified tobacco plants to the laboratory. Additionally, compliance with industry regulations is essential, including ensuring that the genetically modified plants avoid contact with external tobacco plants. By implementing strict safety measures and adhering to regulatory standards, we aim to advance this project responsibly, ensuring the sustainable development of genetically modified plants.

Biocontainment

In order to ensure that this product will continue to work, we are not destroying its ability to reproduce at this time. Once the production of the strain has stabilized, we will introduce the sterility gene to control the introduction of the plant into the market without genetic contamination. Until then, we will need to implement strict laboratory controls to ensure that the modified plant does not adversely affect wild populations by flowing into the natural environment.

When growing modified Nicotiana benthamiana in natural environments we need to assess the potential impact of the modified Nicotiana benthamiana on local ecosystems, including its effects on soil, water quality and biodiversity. We need to monitor whether the metabolites of the improved plants will pollute the environment and whether they will affect the efficiency of natural resource use.

Future application scenarios

Our improved Nicotiana benthamiana can be better used for:

• Bioremediation: phytoremediation of heavy metals or organic pollutants using modified Nicotiana benthamiana.
• Biopharmaceuticals: production of drugs or bioactive molecules through metabolic engineering to introduce specific biosynthetic pathways.
• Bioenergy: improving the yield and quality of biofuels by optimizing metabolic pathways.
• Agricultural improvement: increasing agricultural output by improving the disease resistance, drought tolerance and nutritional value of crops.

Our improved Nicotiana benthamiana, by knocking out the HQT gene, may play an important role in the future in a variety of fields such as biopharmaceuticals, biofuel production, environmental remediation, agricultural improvement, food industry, industrial chemicals production, biomaterials development, medical research, environmental monitoring, and scientific research and education, etc. And at the same time, it is necessary to develop the applications in a way that ensures biosafety and environmental sustainability.

Socio-economic Impacts

Introducing new synthetic biology platforms, such as our engineered Nicotiana benthamiana with reduced chlorogenic acid levels, necessitates careful consideration of their socio-economic implications. While synthetic biology holds promise for producing high-value compounds, public perception and acceptance remain critical. Despite increasing awareness of genetic engineering through media, skepticism persists, particularly concerning genetically modified plants. Local authorities and stakeholders need to engage in dialogue to address these concerns and build trust in such technologies' safety and efficacy.

Moreover, the initial production costs and resource investments associated with developing these novel platforms could pose economic challenges. Until these platforms gain approval from biosafety regulators and achieve economies of scale, there may be concerns regarding their affordability and perceived risk. Demonstrating the safety, reliability, and economic viability of our modified Nicotiana benthamiana as a robust production chassis is vital to overcoming these hurdles. By ensuring rigorous safety standards and transparent communication of the benefits, we aim to pave the way for broader acceptance and integration of plant-based synthetic biology solutions into various industries.