{"id":2303,"date":"2022-11-29T13:02:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T07:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kewaunee.in\/blog\/?p=2303"},"modified":"2025-08-08T06:49:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T01:19:17","slug":"biosafety-level-facilities-plants-insects-and-aquatic-organism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kewaunee.in\/blog\/biosafety-level-facilities-plants-insects-and-aquatic-organism\/","title":{"rendered":"Biosafety Level Facilities \u2013 Plants, Insects, and Aquatic Organism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Biosafety Level Facilities Plants Insects And Aquatic Organism<\/span><\/h1>[vc_column_text]Biosafety level facilities are specialised research laboratories dealing with infectious agents and pathogens. Research involving infectious & genetically modified organisms requires the protection of the laboratory personnel, environment, and the community. In today\u2019s research savvy world, it\u2019s important to understand the different biosafety levels mandated by compliance organisations and how they\u2019re differentiated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The biosafety levels provide protective measures and command the work practices appropriate to the research.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Organism<\/strong><\/td>\nFacility Designation<\/strong><\/td>\nSafety Levels<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Microorganisms<\/span><\/td>\nBiosafety Level (BSL)<\/span><\/td>\nBSL-1 to BSL-4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Animal<\/span><\/td>\nAnimal Biosafety Level (ABSL)<\/span><\/td>\nABSL-1 to ABSL-4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plant<\/span><\/td>\nPlant Biosafety Level (PBSL)<\/span><\/td>\nPBSL-1 to PBSL-4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arthropods\/Insects<\/span><\/td>\nInsect Biosafety Level (IBSL)<\/span><\/td>\nIBSL-1 to IBSL-4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aquatic organisms<\/span><\/td>\nAquatic Organism Biosafety Level (AqBSL)<\/span><\/td>\nAqBSL-1 to AqBSL-3<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: Department of Biotechnology, India<\/span><\/p>\n

In our previous posts we explored the guidelines for <\/span>BSL<\/span><\/a> facilities and Animal biosafety (<\/span>ABSL<\/span><\/a>) facilities. In this blog, we\u2019re going to focus on the biosafety level facilities for plants, insects, and aquatic organisms, as prescribed by the Department of Biotechnology in India.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Plant Biosafety Level (PBSL)<\/b><\/h2>\n

Depending on the nature of work, for experiments on plants, four biosafety levels laboratories are specified. The levels, PBSL-1-4, include structures comprising greenhouses, screen houses and flexible film plastic structures.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Biosafety Level<\/strong><\/th>\nFacility Description<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
PBSL-1<\/span><\/td>\nPBSL-1 applies to structures comprising greenhouses, screen houses and flexible plastic film structures for:<\/span><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Experiments on plants involving Risk Group (RG) 1 organism (e.g., non-pathogenic nitrogen fixing bacteria and Agrobacterium spp.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Category I genetic engineering on plants which generally do not pose significant risks to laboratory workers, community, or the environment<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PBSL-2<\/span><\/td>\nPBSL-2 applies to structures comprising greenhouses, screen houses and flexible plastic film structures for:<\/span><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Experiments on plants involving RG 2 organism\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Experiments using plant associated transgenic insects or small animals as long as they pose no threat to managed or natural ecosystems.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Category II genetic engineering on plants which may pose low-level risks to laboratory workers, community, or the environment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PBSL-3<\/span><\/td>\nPBSL-3 applies only to greenhouses for:<\/span><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Experiments on plants involving RG 3 organism<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Category III & above genetic engineering on plants which generally do not pose moderate to high risks to laboratory workers, community, or the environment<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PBSL-4<\/span><\/td>\nPBSL-4 applies only to greenhouses for:<\/span><\/p>\n