Biology Documents - Companion Documents for Directive 94-08

Biology documents are companion documents to Directive 94-08 (Dir94-08), Assessment Criteria for Determining Environmental Safety of Plants with Novel Traits. A biology document is intended to provide background information on the biology of a particular plant species, its centres of origin, its related species, the potential for gene introgression from the plant into relatives, as well as details on the life forms with which it interacts. The conclusions drawn in a biology document only relate to plants with no novel traits of the species in question.

Such species-specific information will serve as a guide for addressing some of the information requirements of Dir94-08. Specifically, this information will be used to determine whether there are significantly different/altered interactions with other life forms resulting from a plant with novel trait's (PNT) novel gene products, which could potentially cause the PNT to become a weed of agriculture, become invasive of natural habitats, or otherwise interact differently than their counterpart in the environment.

• The Biology of Triticum aestivum L. (Wheat)
• The Biology of Beta vulgaris L. (Sugar Beet)
• The biology of Borago officinalis L. (Borage)
• The Biology of Brassica carinata (A.) Braun (Abyssinian cabbage)
• The Biology of Brassica juncea (Canola/Mustard)
• The Biology of Brassica napus L. (Canola/Rapeseed)
• The Biology of Brassica rapa L.
• The Biology of Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (Camelina)
• The Biology of Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabis, hemp, marijuana)
• The Biology of Glycine max (L.) Merr. (Soybean)
• The Biology of Helianthus annuus L.
• The Biology of Lens culinaris Medikus (Lentil)
• The Biology of Linum usitatissimum L. (Flax)
• The Biology of Malus domestica Borkh. (Apple)
• The Biology of Medicago sativa L. (Alfalfa)
• The biology of Sinapis alba L. (mustard)
• The Biology of Solanum tuberosum (L.) (Potatoes)
• The Biology of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (Sorghum)
• The Biology of Triticum turgidum ssp. durum (Durum Wheat)
• The biology of Zea mays L. (maize)

These documents are published by the Plant Biosafety Office.