Genetically modified plant research must follow NIH guidelines

News for Researchers Uncategorized

Posted May 3, 2024 by Dan Moser

The Office of Environmental Health and Safety reminds research faculty that the use of genetically modified plants in laboratories, greenhouses, growth chambers or other contained facilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln must comply with the National Institutes of Health’s Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules and must be reviewed by the UNL Institutional Biosafety Committee.   

Transgenic plants approved for field release or deregulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service when grown in UNL contained facilities are still considered recombinant by the NIH guidelines and need to be included in an IBC protocol. Additionally, work with plant pathogens in UNL facilities requires UNL IBC approval per UNL Biosafety Guidelines. IBC protocol forms are submitted through the Institutional Biosafety Committee module of NuRamp

Additional information about how these guidelines may apply to your work is available at the IBC website, including access to the Plant Research and UNL IBC Protocol Clarification document.  

For questions and to further discuss your research, contact EHS biosafety staff, 402-472-4925. 


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