Research and analysis

Precision bred organism marketing notice (reference: PBM/25/HOVU/001)

Published 13 March 2026

Applies to England

Information provided to the Secretary of State alongside a notice of intention to market a precision bred plant under schedule 2 of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025.

1. Name and address of the person with overall responsibility for marketing the precision bred plant

Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ

2. General description of the precision bred plant

a) Genus and species

Hordeum vulgare

b) Intended alterations to characteristics of the plant

Higher lipid content in plant tissues.

c) Types of genetic changes introduced to cause these alterations

Small insertion-deletion mutations (indels) in two nuclear genes.

d) Techniques of modern biotechnology used to make these genetic changes

Hordeum vulgare (barley) plants were stably transformed with a site-directed endonuclease and appropriate guide RNAs (using agrobacterium) to target within the coding regions of two genes that encode lipases. Incorrect repair by non-homologous end joining led to small indels being introduced at the target sites, which cause frame shifts and result in early termination of the encoded proteins and loss of function.

3. Intended use of the precision bred plant

Cultivated in England for use in animal feeding trials. Higher lipid content has the potential to increase feed quality (for example metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter) and lower enteric methane emissions when fed to ruminants.

4. Intended genetic changes made

(a) the details of genetic changes made;

The genetic changes are small indels (1 bp deletions) in the second exons of two genes that are homologues of Arabidopsis thaliana SUGAR-DEPENDENT 1 (SDP1) (AGI code: At5g04040). The mutations both cause frame shifts and are expected to result in early termination of the encoded proteins prior to the predicted catalytic serine residue and thus loss-of-function.

The genetic changes were made in Hordeum vulgare cv. Golden Promise. There is an annotated genome assembly for this cultivar that is publicly available and can be browsed at EnsemblPlants (https://plants.ensembl.org/index.html; Hvulgare_cv_Golden_Promise_BPGv2 INSDC Assembly GCA_949783185.1). The H. vulgare SDP1A and SDP1B genes are annotated as ‘HORVU.GOLDEN_PROMISE.PROJ.3HG00260680’ and ‘HORVU.GOLDEN_PROMISE.PROJ.5HG00468410’, respectively.

(b) the location of genetic changes;

With reference to the annotated H. vulgare cv. Golden Promise genome assembly (Hvulgare_cv_Golden_Promise_BPGv2 INSDC Assembly GCA_949783185.1), the locations of the deleted base pairs in SDP1A and SDP1B are OX460035.1:495003344 and OX460037.1:558946250, respectively. In both cases this is loss of a single cytosine on the sense strand.

(c) the stability of genetic changes;

Genotyping of T0, T1, T2 and T3 plants showed that both mutations are stably inherited over multiple generations.

d) when a genetic change involves the insertion of any genetic material, a description of all the genetic elements inserted and the organism from which they originated;

Not applicable – no inserted genetic material.

e) the purpose of the genetic changes described above in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d), including how they alter the characteristics of the precision bred plant

The purpose of the genetic changes is to disrupt the function of the SDP1A and SDP1B genes that are predicted to encode triacylglycerol lipases. This action impairs the metabolic turnover of triacylglycerol in the cells of the plant, leading to a gradual overaccumulation of lipid.

5. Unintended genetic changes made

(a) the details of genetic changes made;

Not present – no unintended genetic changes made.

(b) the location of genetic changes;

Not applicable – no unintended genetic changes made.

(c) the stability of genetic changes;

Not applicable – no unintended genetic changes made.

6. How the intended genetic changes were introduced

(a) which techniques of modern biotechnology were used;

Hordeum vulgare (barley) plants were stably transformed with a site-directed endonuclease (CRISPR-Cas9) and appropriate guide RNAs (using agrobacterium) to target within the second exon of two genes which are predicted to encode triacylglycerol lipases. Incorrect repair by non-homologous end joining led to small indels being introduced at the target sites, which cause frame shifts and are expected to result in early termination of the encoded proteins and loss of function.

(b) information about any transgenic intermediates used;

Initially, the plants were stably transformed with a T-DNA vector using agrobacterium. The T-DNA construct housed a hygromycin resistance cassette consisting of the hygromycin phosphotransferase coding sequence (hptII) from Streptomyces hygroscopicus driven and terminated by the 35s promoter (P-CaMV35s) and terminator (T-CaMV35s) from Cauliflower mosaic virus; a Cas9 expression cassette consisting of sequence encoding Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenies with a carboxy-terminal nuclear-localization signal from Simian vacuolating virus 40 (SpCas9:NLS) driven by a ubiquitin promoter from Zea mays (P-ZmUbi) and terminated by a nopaline synthase terminator from Agrobacterium tumefaciens (T-AtNos); and two guide RNAs each driven by a Triticum aestivum U6 promoter (P-TaU6). After the target genes were edited the T-DNA insertion was removed by segregation.

7. Analysis and procedures used

(a) description of the analysis and procedures used to confirm the plant only contains genetic sequences that could arise by traditional processes.

Long-read sequencing was performed on genomic DNA isolated from the precision bred plant to ~10x coverage. Bioinformatic analysis of this data failed to identify any evidence that sequence from the T-DNA vector was present. PCR was also performed on genomic DNA using primer pairs specific to the hptII and SpCas9 genes in the T-DNA and no products were detected.

8. Other precision bred plants covered by this marketing notice

(a) Total number of precision bred plants being notified 

Not applicable – Only one plant being notified

(b) Confirmation of precision breeding criteria

Not applicable – Only one plant being notified

(c) Variations in intended genetic changes introduced

Not applicable – Only one plant being notified

(d) Variations in unintended genetic changes introduced

Not applicable – Only one plant being notified