Research and analysis

Qualifying higher plant notification (reference: 22/Q01)

Published 26 April 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

Modulating seed oil content in gene-edited Camelina 2022/10.

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

Agronomic performance of four gene-edited lines, including determination of the composition of the seeds with respect to storage compounds (oil, protein, carbohydrate).

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

(a) family name - Brassicaceae

(b) genus - Camelina

(c) species - C. sativa

(d) subspecies - Camelina sativa ssp. sativa (L.) Crantz

4. The expected date on which the project will start

1 May 2022 or thereafter.

5. The expected duration of the project

3 growing seasons (that is, until October 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. Camelina is not grown as a commercial crop on the experimental farm or the local area.

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.

I confirm that I have read the guidance. I confirm that the C. sativa lines to be grown in this experiment meet the criteria described in that document.

13 April 2022

  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