Research and analysis

Qualifying higher plant notification (reference: 22/Q02)

Published 6 May 2022

Applies to England

Notification requirement for release of qualifying higher plants

Information to be provided to the Secretary of State alongside a notice of intention to release a qualifying higher plant under Schedule 3A of the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022.

1. The title of the project

Testing Sl7DR-2 knockout lines of tomato for conversion of provitamin D3 to vitamin D3 in sunlight.

2. The aim of the project (including any matters being investigated as part of the project)

We have created knockout mutants of a gene encoding an enzyme (7DR-2) in tomato using CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editing. These lines accumulate provitamin D3 (7-dehydrocholesterol) in leaves and fruit. This can be converted to vitamin D3 by exposure of leaves or fruit to UVB light. We wish to test whether lower but longer-term exposure to UVB light of plants grown outside in natural sunlight is adequate to convert provitamin D3 to vitamin D3, avoiding the necessity of exposure post-harvest. These trials would allow us also to study the turnover of vitamin D3 and provitamin D3 in tomato plants.

3. The full name of the qualifying higher plant to be released under the project, including:

(a) family name: Solanaceae

(b) genus: Solanum

(c) species: Solanum lycopersicum

(d) subspecies: variety MoneyMaker

4. The expected date on which the project will start

1 June 2022

5. The expected duration of the project

September 2022

6. Confirmation that the person with overall responsibility for the project will put in place appropriate measures ^{[footnote 1]}, as necessary, to minimise the possibility of material from the qualifying higher plant being placed on the market, for example by cross-fertilizing sexually compatible commercial crops

We confirm that we will take all appropriate measures to avoid cross pollination between the QHPs and sexually compatible commercial crops. Tomatoes (5 plants of two mutant lines) will be grown in pots on the research centre grounds in an area between greenhouses. This will limit insect access, but as tomatoes are not widely grown outside in the UK and no other tomatoes will be growing outside at this research centre at this time, we believe that the risk of cross pollination will be effectively zero.

7. Confirmation that the person with overall responsibility for the project has read the technical guidance on using genetic technologies (such as gene-editing) for making ‘qualifying higher plants’ for research trials and has assessed that the higher plants covered by this notification meet these criteria

We confirm that the lines we intend to grow outside qualify as QHPs suitable for notification. We intend to grow knockout mutants MUT#1 and MUT#4. Both these lines have been demonstrated to have lost the CRISPR/Cas 9 bearing T-DNA by segregation and have been demonstrated to have no off-target mutations. Both mutations involve small indels in the 7DR-2 gene of tomato which could have been generated naturally.

Please submit the completed form to gm-regulation@defra.gov.uk at least 20 days before the day on which the qualifying higher plant is due to be released.

1. Notifiers may wish to refer to published ACRE advice concerning measures for the minimisation of cross-pollination from UK GMO crop trials authorised under retained EU legislation. ↩