The Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Scotland) Regulations 2002

Techniques of genetic modification

5.—(1) Until the coming into force of the first regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under section 106(4B)(a) (power to prescribe techniques, alteration by which shall be taken to be artificial modification)(1) of the Act, genes or other genetic material shall be taken, for the purposes of subsection (4) of that section, to be artificially modified if they are altered using any of the following techniques:–

(a) recombinant nucleic acid techniques involving the formation of new combinations of genetic material by the insertion of nucleic acid molecules produced by whatever means outside an organism, into any virus, bacterial plasmid or other vector system and their incorporation into a host organism in which they do not naturally occur but in which they are capable of continued propagation;

(b) techniques involving the direct introduction into an organism of heritable material prepared outside the organism including micro-injection, macro-injection and micro-encapsulation;

(c) cell fusion (including protoplast fusion) or hybridisation techniques where live cells with new combinations of heritable genetic material are formed through the fusion of two or more cells by means of methods that do not occur naturally.

(2) Until the coming into force of the first regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under section 106(4B)(b) (power to prescribe techniques, alteration by which shall not be taken to be artificial modification) of the Act, genes or other genetic material shall not be taken, for the purposes of subsection (4) of that section, to be artificially modified by reason only of being altered by the use of any of the following techniques:–

(a) in vitro fertilisation;

(b) natural processes including conjugation, transduction or transformation;

(c) polyploidy induction:

Provided that such techniques do not involve the use of recombinant nucleic acid molecules or genetically modified organisms made by techniques or methods other than–

(i) mutagenesis; or

(ii) cell fusion (including protoplast fusion) of plant cells of organisms which can exchange genetic material through traditional breeding methods.

(3) Until the coming into force of the first regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under section 106(4C) (power to prescribe organisms which shall be taken not to be genetically modified) of the Act, an organism shall be taken, for the purposes of Part VI of the Act, not to be a genetically modified organism if it is yielded from the techniques or methods listed in paragraph (2)(i) or (ii):

Provided that those techniques or methods did not involve the use of recombinant nucleic acid molecules or genetically modified organisms (other than those made by techniques or methods listed in that paragraph).

(1)

Section 106(4) is amended by regulation 3(3) and section 106(4A) to (4D) is inserted by regulation 3(4).