Groups of organisms which are or contain plant pests. The organisms that are or contain plant pests are included in the taxa or group of organisms contained in the following list. Within any taxonomic series included on the list, the lowest unit of classification actually listed is the taxon or group which may contain organisms which are regulated. Organisms belonging to all lower taxa contained within the group listed are included as organisms that may be or may contain plant pests, and are regulated if they meet the definition of plant pest in § 340.1 4

4 Any organism belonging to any taxa contained within any listed genera or taxa is only considered to be a plant pest if the organism “can directly or indirectly injure, or cause disease, or damage in any plants or parts thereof, or any processed, manufactured, or other products of plants.” Thus a particular unlisted species within a listed genus would be deemed a plant pest for purposes of § 340.2, if the scientific literature refers to the organism as a cause of direct or indirect injury, disease, or damage to any plants, plant parts or products of plants. (If there is any question concerning the plant pest status of an organism belonging to any listed genera or taxa, the person proposing to introduce the organism in question should consult with APHIS to determine if the organism is subject to regulation.)

Any genetically engineered organism composed of DNA or RNA sequences, organelles, plasmids, parts, copies, and/or analogs, of or from any of the groups of organisms listed below shall be deemed a regulated article if it also meets the definition of plant pest in § 340.1.

Organisms listed in the Code of Federal Regulations as noxious weeds are regulated under the Federal Noxious Weed Act

And all Protozoa associated with insect diseases

Unclassified organisms and/or organisms whose classification is unknown.

Exemptions. (1) A limited permit for interstate movement shall not be required for genetic material from any plant pest contained in Escherichia coli genotype K-12 (strain K-12 and its derivatives), sterile strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or asporogenic strains of Bacillus subtilis, provided that all the following conditions are met:

The microorganisms are shipped in a container that meets the requirements of § 340.8(b)(3);

The cloned genetic material is maintained on a nonconjugation proficient plasmid and the host does not contain other conjugation proficient plasmids or generalized transducing phages;

The cloned material does not include the complete infectious genome of a known plant pest;

The cloned genes are not carried on an expression vector if the cloned genes code for:

A toxin to plants or plant products, or a toxin to organisms beneficial to plants; or

Other factors directly involved in eliciting plant disease (i.e., cell wall degrading enzymes); or

Substances acting as, or inhibitory to, plant growth regulators.

A limited permit for interstate movement is not required for genetic material from any plant pest contained in the genome of the plant Arabiodopsis thaliana, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

The plants or plant materials are shipped in a container that meets the requirements of § 340.8(b) (1), (2), and (3);

The cloned genetic material is stably integrated into the plant genome;

The cloned material does not include the complete infectious genome of a known plant pest.