identifier: METPO:1001103
label: biosafety level 2
definition: A biosafety level that poses moderate risk and is associated with human
  diseases present in the community.
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: '2'
  synonym_type: RELATED_SYNONYM
  source: metpo.owl
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
  snippet: virulence factors
  notes: Virulence-factor review supports moderate-virulence community-disease pathogens
    (typically with available vaccines or therapies) as BSL-2 agents.
canonical_examples:
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:1280
  taxon_label: Staphylococcus aureus
  note: "BSL-2 pathogen"
  reference: PMID:23408135
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:28901
  taxon_label: Salmonella enterica
  note: "BSL-2 pathogen"
  reference: PMID:32731970
causal_graphs:
- graph_id: biosafety_level_2_moderate_hazard
  title: BSL-2 moderate-hazard classification
  description: DOI-backed graph linking moderate pathogen virulence and the presence
    of effective countermeasures to BSL-2 classification.
  nodes:
  - node_id: bsl2_trait
    label: biosafety level 2
    node_type: TRAIT
    grounding: METPO:1001103
    description: Moderate-risk agents associated with community human diseases; biosafety
      cabinets and PPE required.
  - node_id: biosafety_level
    label: biosafety level
    node_type: TRAIT
    grounding: METPO:1001101
    description: Hazard-classification axis for biological agents.
  - node_id: moderate_pathogen_hazard
    label: moderate pathogen hazard
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Pathogens with established virulence in healthy adults but generally
      treatable with available countermeasures.
  - node_id: risk_group_2_pathogen
    label: risk group 2 pathogen
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Agent of moderate individual risk and limited community risk; mapped
      to BSL-2 containment.
  - node_id: pathogenicity
    label: pathogenicity
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Capacity of an agent to cause disease; a criterion used in risk-group
      assignment.
  - node_id: mode_of_transmission
    label: mode and ease of transmission
    node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS
    description: Route and efficiency of agent transmission; a criterion used in risk-group
      assignment.
  - node_id: aerosol_splash_procedure
    label: aerosol- or splash-generating procedure
    node_type: EXPERIMENTAL_FACTOR
    description: Laboratory procedures producing infectious aerosols or splashes.
  - node_id: biosafety_cabinet
    label: biological safety cabinet class I/II
    node_type: EXPERIMENTAL_FACTOR
    description: Engineering control used at BSL-2 for aerosol/splash-generating procedures.
  - node_id: appropriate_ppe
    label: appropriate personal protective equipment
    node_type: EXPERIMENTAL_FACTOR
    description: Lab coat, gloves, and eye protection as needed at BSL-2.
  - node_id: restricted_lab_access
    label: restricted laboratory access
    node_type: EXPERIMENTAL_FACTOR
    description: Administrative control limiting laboratory entry, required at BSL-2.
  edges:
  - subject: moderate_pathogen_hazard
    predicate: produces
    object: bsl2_trait
    description: Moderate pathogen hazard with available countermeasures yields BSL-2
      classification.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
      snippet: virulence factors
      notes: Supports moderate virulence with treatability as the basis of BSL-2 classification.
    predicate_id: METPO:2000202
  - subject: bsl2_trait
    predicate: is a
    object: biosafety_level
    description: BSL-2 is a member of the biosafety-level classification.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162938
      snippet: virulence factors
      notes: Supports BSL-2 as a member of the biosafety-level classification.
    predicate_id: rdfs:subClassOf
  - subject: risk_group_2_pathogen
    predicate: supports assignment to
    object: bsl2_trait
    description: RG2 agents (moderate individual, limited community risk) are assigned
      to BSL-2 containment.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.pathol.2020.09.006
      notes: Risk Group 2 ("moderate individual risk, limited community risk") associates
        RG-2 agents with BSL-2/PC-2.
  - subject: pathogenicity
    predicate: influences selection of
    object: bsl2_trait
    description: Agent pathogenicity is a criterion driving risk-group/biosafety-level
      assignment.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.pathol.2020.09.006
      notes: Risk Groups are assigned based on pathogenicity, transmission, host range,
        and countermeasure availability.
  - subject: mode_of_transmission
    predicate: influences selection of
    object: bsl2_trait
    description: Mode and ease of transmission is a criterion driving biosafety-level
      assignment; airborne transmission escalates above BSL-2.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.pathol.2020.09.006
      notes: Risk Groups assigned based on mode/ease of transmission; airborne lethal
        agents are escalated to BSL-3.
  - subject: aerosol_splash_procedure
    predicate: necessitates use of
    object: biosafety_cabinet
    description: Procedures generating infectious aerosols or splashes require a class
      I/II biological safety cabinet at BSL-2.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1007/978-1-4939-8935-5_19
      notes: All procedures that could create infectious aerosols/splashes are conducted
        in biological safety cabinets at BSL-2.
  - subject: appropriate_ppe
    predicate: mitigates risk in
    object: bsl2_trait
    description: Lab coats, gloves, and eye protection reduce exposure risk at BSL-2.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.pathol.2020.09.006
      notes: Appropriate PPE (lab coats and gloves), with eye protection as needed,
        must be worn in BSL-2/PC-2.
  - subject: restricted_lab_access
    predicate: is required for
    object: bsl2_trait
    description: Restricted laboratory access is a required administrative control
      at BSL-2.
    evidence:
    - reference: DOI:10.1007/978-1-4939-8935-5_19
      notes: BSL-2 requires restricted access and additional agent-specific training
        compared with BSL-1.
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-05-05T01:35:46.933068+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 moderate pathogen hazard to BSL-2
    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 6 evidence-backed generic edges (7 new nodes) from the deep-research
    report.
  llm_assisted: true
discussions:
- discussion_id: kgscan-066a51aacfb6
  prompt: 'Knowledge gap for biosafety level 2: Background : Untargeted microbiome modulation has achieved conflicting results in post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS).'
  kind: KNOWLEDGE_GAP
  status: OPEN
  rationale: 'Surfaced by the Europe PMC literature gap-signal scan (categories: controversy_conflict, future_work, limitations_barriers, unclear_unknown). Curator review required: set attaches_to, refine the prompt, and weigh the cited evidence.'
  attaches_to: []
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:41683313
    supports: NO_EVIDENCE
    evidence_source: abstract
    snippet: 'Background : Untargeted microbiome modulation has achieved conflicting results in post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS).'
    explanation: Gap-signal sentence (controversy_conflict) from the cited abstract.
  - reference: PMID:41413233
    supports: NO_EVIDENCE
    evidence_source: abstract
    snippet: Recently, the gut microbiota (GM) has gained attention for its potential involvement in blood pressure regulation; however, polyamine metabolism involvement remains poorly understood.
    explanation: Gap-signal sentence (unclear_unknown) from the cited abstract.
  - reference: PMID:41640410
    supports: NO_EVIDENCE
    evidence_source: abstract
    snippet: However, their clinical translation is hampered by challenges within the harsh gastrointestinal milieu, including low viability, poor colonization, and insufficient target specificity.
    explanation: Gap-signal sentence (limitations_barriers) from the cited abstract.
  - reference: PMID:41490313
    supports: NO_EVIDENCE
    evidence_source: abstract
    snippet: However, how these core strains interact with each other and with other gut microbes is largely unknown.
    explanation: Gap-signal sentence (unclear_unknown) from the cited abstract.
  posed_by: kg-microbe-kgscan