Good idea but might need something more official than a web page. I have
had to deal with the USDA and APHIS and acquire a permit just to be able
to use Formedium HL5.

Where my lab is, the ignorance about Dicty being non-hazardous and having
little to no risk of contamination to our cell culture rooms can get quite
tiring. Especially with mycoplasma contamination issues...most are unaware
that a technician is more of a risk if that tech is a carrier and
routinely passes their cells.

Wolfgang Nellen wrote:
>                     Dear all,
>      especially in Germany, safety regulations for transgenic organisms
>  are strict. We just encounter the request that filters in the work
>   benches should be inactivated by formaldehyde. It may be useful
> (especially for the German and probably other European workers) to
>  have references at hand that argue against health hazards by
> Dictyostelium. I proposed to DictyBase to establish a "safety page".
>    This could be immediately used in applications for permission to
>   work with recombinant Dicty.
>      I am asking for your help to compile references for this. Below I
> list references that I have already found to provide evidence for:
>  cell inactivation at 35°C, stopp of growth at 27°C, spore
> inactivation at 55°C, and the long scientific work with
> Dictyostelium without any reported health problems for the workers.
>      Any further good reasons why Dicty is not hazardous are appreciated.
>    I miss e.g. a reference that dispersal by wind is not possible (or
>     very unlikely).
>
>                                           Cotter, D. A. and         K. B.
> Raper (1966). "Spore
> germination in Dictyostelium
> discoideum." Proc Natl Acad
>      Sci U S A 56(3): 880-7.
> Cotter, D. A. and         K. B.
> Raper         (1968). "Spore
> germination in strains of
> Dictyostelium         discoideum
> and         other members of the
> Dictyosteliaceae." J Bacteriol
> 96(5): 1690-5.     Katz, E. R.
> and L.         Y. Bourguignon
>      (1974). "The cell cycle and
> its relationship to aggregation
> in         the         cellular
> slime mold, Dictyostelium
> discoideum." Dev Biol
> 36(1): 82-7.     Loomis, W. F.
> and         S. Wheeler (1980).
>       "Heat shock response of
> Dictyostelium." Dev Biol 79(2):
> 399-408.     Raper, K. B.
>  (1935).         "Dictyostelium
> discoideum, a new species of
> slime mold from         decaying
>         forest leaves." J.
>     Agr. Res. 50:
> 135-147.           Thanks     a
> lot!
>      wolfgang
>      --    Wolfgang Nellen Abt. Genetik Univ. Kassel Heinrich-Plett-Str.
> 40 34132 Kassel, Germany  phone: (++49) 561 8044805 fax: (++49) 561
> 8044800 mobile: (++49) 17665620661 [log in to unmask]
> http://www.biologie.uni-kassel.de/genetics/
> http://www.sciencebridge.net http://www.vbio.de/


----------------------------------------
Michael A. Myre, PhD
Center for Human Genetic Research
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Richard B. Simches Research Center
185 Cambridge St., CPZN 5.612A
Boston, MA  02114
Ph. 617-643-5536
Fax 617-726-5735
[log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------



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