International Resources on the Release of Organisms into the Environment

Dr. Mark Segal, Member, IRRO Steering Committee
Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C.

The release of organisms into the environment is a topic of considerable interest to scientists, public interest groups, industry, and government and nongovernmental agencies alike. There is a widely felt need for reliable, comprehensive information on all aspects of this topic. Although several individual efforts have been initiated, a unified global information resource does not exist.

Collaborative Effort Initiated

In 1990, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recognized the need for such a resource. UNEP invited the Microbial Strain Data Network (MSDN) to organize workshops to examine the needs and specifications for a worldwide information system with the possible aim of establishing such a system. UNEP provided seed funding to initiate the process. MSDN solicited participation from other organizations.

Additional funds for the workshops came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (OTS/HERD), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (APHIS/BBEP), Environment Canada (Commercial Chemicals Branch), and the Commission of the European Communities (DGX11/F/1).

Because of travel restrictions, the first workshop, held March 11-15, 1991, consisted of simultaneous sessions at two locations- -Vienna, Austria, and Rockville, Maryland, USA. The workshop brought together experts in microbiology, industrial experiences, release regulatory matters, database and network development, and management.

The meetings were linked by electronic mail, prerecorded videotapes, and teleconferences, and by an on-going computer conference where those unable to attend the workshop sites could contribute. These sessions firmly established the need for, and broadly outlined an approach to, building the system.

Second Workshop Held

Nottingham, United Kingdom, was the site for a second workshop held August 28-29, 1991, in conjunction with the Release of Genetically Engineered Microorganisms (REGEM-II) meeting. It brought together participants from both previous sessions and confirmed the network approach recommended by the earlier groups.

The Nottingham workshop also set the stage for implementing the system by drawing the following conclusions:

• An integrated information resource on the introduction of organisms into the environment should be established.
• The resource should be international in scope and accessibility.
  
• Information on both nonmodified and genetically modified organisms should be included.
  
• The resource should be not-for-profit.
• Data should be made freely available as far as possible; confidential commercial information would be the major exclusion.
• The resource should be a distributed network linking existing resources.
• New databases should be developed only to fill gaps in information, thereby avoiding duplication.
• The separate information resources should be linked by gateways where appropriate.
• Usage should be facilitated by the development of common interfaces.
• The resource should be flexible to accommodate different information sources already in operation (that may have existing distribution policies) and to adjust to new circumstances that may arise.
• Regional help desks and training should be important parts of the resource.

Consensus of Participants

The strong consensus of workshop participants was that the success of the resource depended on the close collaboration between the scientific, regulated, and regulatory communities. The scope of the resource was seen to cut across traditional disciplinary lines and potentially to support such diverse interests as biotechnology, biodiversity, and bioremediation. Moreover, the participants agreed that the initiative was relevant to various international environmental efforts and that the recommendations of the workshop should be conveyed to the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) planned for Rio de Janeiro and to other related programs under consideration.

These programs include initiatives such as those of various components of the International Council of Scientific Unions (e.g., IUBS, IUMS, WFCC), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Commission of the European Community, and various U.S. agencies.

Steering Committee Formed

An international Steering Committee for IRRO (International Resources on the Release of Organisms into the Environment) has been formed to guide the development of the data resource and provide scientific and technical oversight. MSDN provides networking expertise and administrative support. The Steering Committee anticipates that a demonstration resource, consisting of varied information sources and services, will be available to the interested public in time for the UNCED meeting.

The steering committee members come from four continents and from island nations. They represent various scientific disciplines from academic, industrial, and governmental backgrounds. This group by design include users of the resource, regulatory professionals, classical biologists, private sector consultants, computer scientists, ecologists, and public health administrators. Supplementing this group will be volunteers who will be organized into special purpose working groups.

Electronic Network Envisioned

IRRO is not envisioned as a single database, per se. It will be an electronic network that will provide centralized access to existing data sources in different regions of the world. The network will use modern telecommunications systems and set up gateways and interfaces. It will provide a single contact point for all those studying the release of organisms into the environment.

The developers of the new network see IRRO as having a broadly based user community. Each component of the community will probably focus on a subset of the resources made available through, or among, disciplines due to the considerable overlap in data resource interests among the varied user groups. User groups will likely include the following:

1. Developers of releases: commercial, academic or governmental.
2. Ecologists and others studying release phenomena.
3. Funding agencies.
4. Regulatory agencies.
5. Public interest groups.
6. Scientific, technical, and commercial associations or organizations.
7. Systematics collections of biotic materials.

Resource Scope

In keeping with this diverse user community, the scope of the resource will be similarly wide ranging. The network will include access to information on the kinds of released organisms and their characteristics, and those of related organisms. Many varieties of organisms currently are being released or considered for that purpose. The system will not attempt to discriminate among data sources based on the category of organism, but rather, will attempt to provide access to data on microbes and macrobiota, genetically engineered or not. It is designed to provide information to aid a developer choosing a candidate organism from a list provided by a participating source of those organisms, an investigator evaluating an organism related to one intended for release, or an ecologist predicting the progress and likelihood for success of the release.

Additionally, IRRO will help users locate information on releases planned or already in progress. Descriptions of releases including site characteristics, methods of site selection, approaches to monitoring, and observations of effects may be listed in reports that could be located through IRRO. Information on the people involved in releases could be captured and made available to those who need to consult on those events.

Activities of government, scientific, or industrial bodies that effect the progress of release-related activities could be listed and cross referenced for the benefit of IRRO users. Expert lists, schedules of key meetings and conferences, and sources of recent publications--all may be made available via electronic mail, bulletin boards, or computer conferences. These non-database functions should dramatically improve communications among disparate groups concerned with organism releases.

Inquiries can be made to the following partial list of members of the Steering Committee and/or the Secretariat:

IRRO/MSDN Secretariat
307 Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 OJX, UK
Tel: 44 223 277628
E-mail BT Gold 75:DBI0005

Ms. Cindy Callahan
USDA, APHIS, BBEP
Federal Building, Room 854A
Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA
Tel: 1 301 436 5140
Fax: 1 301 436 8669
E-mail BT North America 42:CDT0602

Dr. Vanderlei Canhos
Base de Dados Tropical
R. Latino Coelho, 1301
13085 Campinas SP
Brazil
Tel: 55 192 42 7827 / 7022 ext 72
Fax: 55 192 42 7827
E-mail BT North America 142:CDT0094
burc.bitnet
ccvax.unicamp.ansp.br

Dr. Peter Kearns
OECD
2 rue Andre-Pascal
75775 Paris Cedex 16
France
Tel: 33 1 4524 9975
Fax: 33 1 4524 1675

Dr. Brain Kirsop
Biostrategy Associates
10 Waterside
Ely, CB7 4AZ, UK
Tel: 44 353 663562
Fax: 44 353 663436
E-mail Telecom Gold 75:DBI0219

Prof. Ashok Kolaskar
Bioinformatics DIC
University of Poona,
Pune 411 007, India
Tel: 91 212 335039
Fax: 91 212 330087
Telex: 145629 GENE IN
E-mail Telecom Gold 75:DBI0295

Dr. Anne-Marie Prieels
Av de l'Observatoire 2
B-1180 Brussels
Belguim
Tel: 32 2 374 0076
Fax: 32 2 374 0076

Dr. Mark Segal
Environmental Protection Agency
EPQ-QTS (TS796)
401 Street SW
Washington, DC 20460, USA
Tel: 1 202 382 3389
E-mail BT North America 142:CDT0158

Dr. Naresh Singh
Caribbean Environmental Health Institute
P. O. Box 1111, Morne Fortune,
Castries
St. Lucia
Tel: 1 809 452 2501
Fax: 1 809 45 32721