NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
WASHINGTON DC 20550 
Director 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, MD 20014 
Dear Dr. Fredrickson: 
I wish to recommend an addition to the proposed guidelines for 
recombinant DNA research issued on November 30, 1979 (Federal 
Register, Volume 44, No. 232). Discussion at a recent meeting of 
the USDA Committee on Recombinent DNA led to the conclusion that 
there is a need for a specific reference to plant pathogens in 
Appendix B of the proposed guidelines. Therefore, I urge the 
addition of the following statements as Item IV of Appendix B 
(pages 69232 to 69234) of the above cited issue of the Federal 
Register. These statements would logically follow Section III on 
Animal Pathogens. 
IV. Plant Pathogens 
A. Class 1A - Plant pathogens not in Class IB 
Class IB - All organisms that are subject to quarantine 
restrictions for any of the following reasons: 
(i) Plant pathogens not known to occur in the U. S. 
(ii) Plant pathogens that are not widely distributed 
throughout the ecological range of their hosts 
(iii) Plant pathogens subject to federal or state 
eradication or suppression programs 
2 
B. All plant pathogens require state and federal (USDA ) 
permits for shipment across state lines. 
Footnote 2: To obtain application to move a plant pest or 
pathogen contact: Plant Importation and Technical Support 
Staff, Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs, Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service USDA, Federal Center 
Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782. 
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