identifier: METPO:1001102
label: biosafety level 1
definition: A biosafety level that poses minimal potential hazard to laboratory workers
  and the environment, requiring only standard microbiological practices.
definition_source: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
trait_category: ECOLOGY
term_kind: CLASS
mapping_status: REVIEWED
parent_traits:
- METPO:1001101
synonyms:
- synonym_text: '1'
  synonym_type: RELATED_SYNONYM
  source: metpo.owl
created_by: Anthea Guo
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
  snippet: virulence factors
  notes: Virulence-factor review supports the absence or low expression of virulence
    factors in BSL-1 agents (non-pathogenic to healthy adults).
canonical_examples:
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:1423
  taxon_label: Bacillus subtilis
  note: "BSL-1 non-pathogen"
  reference: PMID:32391747
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:562
  taxon_label: Escherichia coli
  note: "BSL-1 lab strain K-12"
  reference: PMID:21208457
causal_graphs:
- graph_id: biosafety_level_1_minimal_hazard
  title: BSL-1 minimal-hazard classification
  description: DOI-backed graph linking the absence of significant pathogen hazard
    properties to BSL-1 classification and minimal containment requirements.
  nodes:
  - node_id: bsl1_trait
    label: biosafety level 1
    node_type: TRAIT
    grounding: METPO:1001102
    description: Minimal hazard to healthy adults; standard microbiological practices
      only.
  - node_id: biosafety_level
    label: biosafety level
    node_type: TRAIT
    grounding: METPO:1001101
    description: Hazard-classification axis for biological agents.
  - node_id: low_pathogen_hazard
    label: low pathogen hazard
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Absence or low expression of virulence factors producing disease
      in healthy adults.
  - node_id: low_risk_agent
    label: low-risk agent
    node_type: QUALITY
    description: A biological agent unlikely to cause disease in healthy adults.
  - node_id: standard_microbiological_practices
    label: standard microbiological practices
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Basic containment relying on standard microbiological best practices
      and procedures.
  - node_id: hand_washing
    label: hand washing
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: A core good microbiological practice for risk reduction.
  - node_id: risk_assessment_factors
    label: biosafety risk assessment factors
    node_type: EXPERIMENTAL_FACTOR
    description: Pathogenicity, transmission route, stability, infectious dose, concentration,
      origin, prophylaxis, personnel experience.
  - node_id: biosafety_level_selection
    label: biosafety level selection
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Process of assigning a biosafety level based on risk assessment.
  - node_id: virulence_traits
    label: specific virulence traits
    node_type: GENE_OR_PROTEIN
    description: Genetic/protein determinants that render an organism capable of causing
      disease.
  - node_id: disease_causation
    label: disease causation
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Process by which an organism causes disease in a host.
  edges:
  - subject: low_pathogen_hazard
    predicate: produces
    object: bsl1_trait
    description: Low pathogen hazard yields BSL-1 classification.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
      snippet: virulence factors
      notes: Supports the absence of virulence factors as the basis of BSL-1 classification.
    predicate_id: METPO:2000202
  - subject: bsl1_trait
    predicate: is a
    object: biosafety_level
    description: BSL-1 is a quantitative class within the biosafety-level classification
      axis.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
      snippet: virulence factors
      notes: Supports BSL-1 as a member of the biosafety-level classification.
    predicate_id: rdfs:subClassOf
  - subject: low_risk_agent
    predicate: qualifies for
    object: bsl1_trait
    description: Low-risk agents unlikely to cause disease in healthy adults qualify
      for BSL-1.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.3390/laboratories1030013
      notes: BSL-1 is the level for low-risk agents unlikely to cause disease in healthy
        adults.
  - subject: low_pathogen_hazard
    predicate: qualifies for
    object: bsl1_trait
    description: Organisms not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adults
      qualify for BSL-1.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.2172/1887109
      notes: Defined strains of viable microorganisms not known to consistently cause
        disease in healthy adult humans.
  - subject: standard_microbiological_practices
    predicate: enables containment at
    object: bsl1_trait
    description: Standard microbiological practices provide the basic containment
      defining BSL-1.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.47328/ufvbbt.2024.220
      notes: BSL-1 represents a basic level of containment relying on standard microbiological
        best practices and procedures.
  - subject: hand_washing
    predicate: is good microbiological practice supporting
    object: standard_microbiological_practices
    description: Hand washing is among the best good microbiological practices underpinning
      standard practices.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2022.965853
      notes: Among GMPP, one of the best practices is hand washing.
  - subject: risk_assessment_factors
    predicate: determine
    object: biosafety_level_selection
    description: Risk assessment factors determine the biosafety level assigned to
      work.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.2172/1887109
      notes: Pathogenicity, route of transmission, stability, infectious dose, concentration,
        origin, prophylaxis, and personnel experience determine biosafety level.
  - subject: biosafety_level_selection
    predicate: assigns
    object: biosafety_level
    description: The selection process assigns a biosafety level on the classification
      axis.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.2172/1887109
      notes: Risk assessment factors determine risk and therefore biosafety level
        assignment.
  - subject: virulence_traits
    predicate: enables
    object: disease_causation
    description: Specific virulence traits render an organism capable of causing disease;
      their absence is compatible with BSL-1.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.3390/microorganisms11020344
      notes: Strains encode specific virulence traits that render them capable of
        causing disease.
    predicate_id: RO:0002327
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-05-05T01:35:46.932513+00:00'
  curator: seed_from_metpo
  action: SEEDED_FROM_METPO
  changes: imported from data/raw/metpo.owl (CLASS)
  llm_assisted: false
- timestamp: '2026-05-13T13:30:00-07:00'
  curator: claude
  action: CURATED_CAUSAL_GRAPH
  changes: Added DOI-backed causal graph linking low pathogen hazard to BSL-1 classification.
  llm_assisted: true
- timestamp: '2026-05-20T03:35:29Z'
  curator: claude
  action: GROUND_CAUSAL_PREDICATES
  changes: Grounded 2 causal-edge predicate_id field(s) via mappings/predicate_grounding.tsv
    (METPO:2000202×1, rdfs:subClassOf×1).
  llm_assisted: true
- timestamp: '2026-06-23T00:00:00Z'
  curator: claude
  action: ENRICH_CAUSAL_GRAPH
  changes: Added 7 evidence-backed generic edges (7 new nodes) from the deep-research
    report.
  llm_assisted: true
- timestamp: '2026-06-24T17:21:09Z'
  curator: claude
  action: GROUND_CAUSAL_PREDICATES
  changes: Grounded 1 causal-edge predicate_id field(s) via mappings/predicate_grounding.tsv
    (RO:0002327×1).
  llm_assisted: true