Team:Tsinghua/Safty
Safty
Overview
This year, Team Tsinghua aimed to build up an improved wide-dynamic-range positive feedback circuit based on bacterial quorum sensing system in E. coli utilizing synthetic biology’s methods. With parts for light sensing systems, lac operon, quorum sensing and CRISPRi modules, the circuit is capable of receiving and amplifying outside stimuli, with low leakage and high response which allows us to execute fine control on signal transduction and protein expression.As a lab of biosafety level 1, we did all of our work with several safe and commonly used lab strains, E. coli K-12 (DH5alpha), BL21(DE3) and Stellar which is classified into Risk Group 1. Besides, hazardous chemicals are avoided as possible as we can. For instance, EtBr or other unsafe DNA dye were supplanted with Safety DNA Dye. Since any hazardous accidents are not expected, all the members of iGEM team were required to pass a lab safety test and take a lab operation safety training course before we could perform experiment.
The Tsinghua iGEM lab is part of the Center for Laboratory Training in Life Sciences in Tsinghua University. One of the administrators and our lab coordinator, Li Peng, and a PhD student, Wang Xuan, offered us training on experimental skills and lab safety. And Teaching personnel's will be overseeing our experiments. Also we will be working with instructors from Chen Lab, the laboratory of our Primary PI that specializes in microbiology research. Here are the details of our lab safety.
Safty Education
Team Tsinghua has always been an active force in the public education of synthetic biology. This year we went to Changsha Yali High School, Hunan, where the 27th China High School Biology Olympiad was being held. Also we prepared synthetic biology lectures for students at the Tsinghua summer school. By introducing iGEM and our project we hope to attract more young masterminds to the field of synthetic biology.