Qualifying higher plant notification (reference: 25/Q07)
Published 11 April 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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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 of SVP-A1 in wheat are required to correctly regulate its expression pattern. We further hypothesise that loss of promoter sequence leads to an increase in gene expression, a broadening of the genes’ expression domains, and subsequently cause an increase in glume, grain size and specific weight.
To test this hypothesis, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to delete these putative cis-regulatory sequences in the promoter of SVP-A1. We have obtained stable gene-edited lines with a 478-bp deletion in the promoter of SVP-A1 and with absence of foreign DNA (confirmed by whole genome sequencing).
3. The full name of the qualifying higher plant to be released under the project
(a) family name: Poaceae
(b) genus: Triticum
(c) species: aestivum
(d) subspecies: Not applicable
4. The expected date on which the project will start
20 April 2025
5. The expected duration of the project
18 months
Expected end date: 30 August 2026
6. Confirmation of appropriate measures
Confirmation that the person with overall responsibility for the project will put in place appropriate measures, as necessary, to minimise the possibility of material from the qualifying higher plant being placed on the market. For example, by cross-fertilising sexually compatible commercial crops.
I confirm that appropriate measures will be put in place to minimise this possibility. We do not grow commercial wheat in the proximity of the field. There will be no wheat grown for 20 metres from the boundary of the experimental plots and no sexually compatible wild relatives of wheat exist in the vicinity.
7. Confirmation that the project meets the criteria set out in ACRE guidance
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 confirm that I have read the guidance at ACRE and have assessed that the higher plants covered by this notification meet these criteria.