Research and analysis

Qualifying higher plant notification (reference: 24/Q01)

Published 16 February 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

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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

Short Vegetative Phase (SVP) cis-regulation in bread wheat

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

We hypothesise that discrete sequences within the promoter and intronic regions of SVP genes (SVP-A1 and VRT-A2) in wheat are required to correctly regulate their expression pattern. We further hypothesise that loss of these sequences leads to an increase in gene expression, a broadening of the genes’ expression domains, and subsequently causes an increase in glume, grain size and specific weight.

To test these hypotheses, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to delete these putative cis-regulatory sequences. We have obtained stable gene-edited lines, which we backcrossed to wildtype plants to remove all transgenes. Specifically, these relate to lines with deletions in the first intron of VRT-A2 and with deletions in the promoter of SVP-A1. We now want to use this germplasm to test our hypotheses in the field.

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

(a) family name: Poaceae

(b) genus: Triticum

(c) species: aestivum

(d) subspecies: not applicable

4. The expected date on which the project will start

1 March 2024

5. The expected duration of the project

18 months

Expected end date: 30 August 2025

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

I confirm that appropriate measures will be put in place to minimise this possibility.

The release will have a 2 x 1.2m plot widths of crop border surrounding the trial, which with tractor wheelings will constitute an overall width of 3m. This will be mown out after flowering is complete but before seed set is viable. This will act as a suitable barrier for cross-pollination.  No sexually compatible wild relatives of wheat exist in the vicinity.

7. Confirmation that the person with overall responsibility for the project has read the ACRE guidance on genetic technologies that result in ‘qualifying higher plants’  and has assessed that the higher plants covered by this notification meet these criteria

I, as the person with overall responsibility for the project, confirm that I have read the guidance at ACRE and have assessed that the higher plants covered by this notification meet these criteria.

  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. ↩

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