STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER 
DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS 
September 18, 1980 
Dr. William J. Gartland, Jr. 
Director 
Office of Recombinant DNA Activities 
Building 31, Room 4A-52 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, MD 20205 
Dear Dr. Gartland: 
This letter is written in support of the request by Dr. Dean P. Taylor for 
reconsideration of the proposal that P2 physical containment be used for DNA 
recombinants produced between members of the Actinomycetes group except for 
those species which are known to be pathogenic for man, animals or plants. 
It is well recognized that the vast majority of Actinomycetes are 
free-living soil organisms that pose no known hazard and are not pathogenic. 
It is reasonable that work with Actinomycetes other than Streptomyces and 
Micromonospora be carried out at the P2 level of containment except for a few 
organisms. Dr. Taylor proposes an appropriate way of dealing with those few 
organisms: they should be included in a list of organisms requiring higher 
level containment, in the same that other pathogenic species and genera are 
explicitly listed in the Guidelines. 
I hope that the RAC will see fit to approve the proposed change in the 
Guidelines. 
DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305 • (415) i ! 
StaiNey N. Cohen 
Professor 
Sinci/ely yours. 
SNC:ps 
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