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1 involved in recombinant DNA research. Many very 
2 useful plasmids have been constructed in E. coli by 
3 restructuring drug resistant plasmids vitro . At 
4 present, these plasmids cannot be transferred to other 
5 bacteria without NIH approval, even though the parent 
6 plasmids have been introduced into the species in 
7 question without any apparent danger. 
8 The requirements for high containment levels 
9 and certification of host-vector systems have discouraged 
10 the use of cloning in work with plants, nitrogen fixation, 
11 and plant pathogens. Agricultural scientists are often 
12 obligated to divide their time between so-called basic 
12 and applied programs, and are seldom full-time geneticists. 
14 They simply do not have the time to do the extra paperwork 
15 and research needed to certify their systems. Furthermore, 
16 containment and safety equipment has rarely been needed 
17 in the plant sciences, so that compliance with the guide- 
18 lines would require new purchases which might pose a hard- 
19 ship on young investigators. 
20 In addition, the establishment of P2 and P3 
21 facilities would infringe on lab space originally shared 
22 with other projects. 
23 The proposed revisions to the guidelines 
24 solved many of these problems by exempting or lowering 
25 the containment levels required for experiments with some 
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