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Revision as of 20:13, 5 July 2018
Safety
Safety is the number one priority when working on the project. This idea applies both to working with the organisms in the lab and considering how our final product will interact with the consumer and its environment. UCSC iGEM is dedicated to maintaining high safety standards. To achieve this, each team member had to undergo extensive safety training before beginning lab work.
In Lab
Environmental Health and Safety Department (EH&S) Standards
EH&S regulates safety for research at UCSC. EH&S are responsible for advising staff of each individuals responsibility with respect to safety, health, and environmental issues, recommends corrective actions, and regularly imposes new health and safety programs. Programs range from laboratory and safety research to environmental management, hazardous materials, biosafety, and more. EH&S also helps provide all labs on campus with protective equipment such as coats, goggles, gloves, and more.
UCSC iGEM Standards
Each team member was first required to complete a lab safety training course, "Laboratory Safety Fundamentals", provided by the University of California Learning Center. Information in the course included hazardous materials, laboratory practices, handling emergency situations, and more.
Students entering the lab were not allowed to work alone. Maintaining this policy was important as having multiple persons in the lab at a time meant someone would be able to respond accordingly in case of an emergency.
Proper PPE was maintained at all times inside the lab, at all times, regardless of whether or not work was being done at the time. In the lab, students were expected to wear a lab coat, protective goggles/glasses, gloves, long pants, and close toed shoes.
In addition to each student upholding both UCSC iGEM standards and EH&S standards, student must also make sure that fellow teammates uphold these standards as well.
Organisms, Enzymes, and Genes
Yarrowia Lipolytica - Classified as a BSL-1 (Biosafety Level 1) organism, Yarrowia Lipolytica is our yeast of choice for the project. Using strain W29, Y. Lipolytica exists naturally in the mouth and gut. Possible side affects of consumption include infections in immunocompromised people (rare). One important factor for us choosing this yeast was that Y. Lipolytica is a GRAS organism meaning it is "Safe-To-Eat".
7-dehydrocholesterol reductase - This enzyme reduces Ergosterol to Ergosta 5-eneol and/or Ergosta 5,22-dieneol.
adrenodoxin-NADP+ reductase (ADR) - ADR is one of the electron carriers needed to allow P450scc to function.
ferredoxin-1 (FDX1) - FDX1 is the second electron carrier needed to allow P450scc to function.
side-chain cleavage cytochrome (P450scc) - P450scc converts Ergostra 5-eneol and Ergostra 5,22-dieneol to pregnenolone.
3beta-hydroxy-Delta5-steroid dehydrogenase/steroid - This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone.
Additional Resources
Please check out the following links if you are interested in learning more about lab and synthetic biology safety. ~Inspired by past UCSC teams and iGEM website~
- ABSA Standards for Laboratory Accreditation
- World Health Organization Biosafety Manual
- Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (CDC)