Paulo Angelo B. Veluz

The study will be conducted to evaluate under greenhouse conditions the genetic efficiency and selected phenotypic characteristics of the 32138 SPT maintainer and 32138x1507XNK603 maintainer stack.

1. To prevent dissemination of regulated genetic material by pollen, maize tassels will be covered with glassine bags before and until completion of pollen shedding. Self and cross pollination of test plants will be done by hand. Maize ears will be collected, dehusked and shelled directly in net bags during harvest to prevent seed dispersal.

2. To prevent the unintended survival of transgenic plants outside the greenhouse and/or introduction to food/feed chain, all experimental plants will be rendered biologically inactive (devitalized) by chopping discarded vegetative plant parts and boiling reproductive plant parts (seeds) before disposal. All plant materials, except for analytical samples, will be buried in a designated pit within the trial facility.

3. Regulated seeds materials will be imported in the country following all quarantine regulations and will be stored in a locked cabinet in the greenhouse room duly inspected by DOST-BC and DA-BPI Plant Quarantine Service.

4. Access to the greenhouse facility will be limited to authorized personnel. All trial personnel will be duly trained in handling regulated transgenic materials before actual conduct of the trial.

a) All activities shall be conducted at the newly-constructed screenhouse facility within a privately-owned farm located at Brgy. Masaya, Bay, Laguna

b) The proponent shall adhere as closely as possible to the schedule of activities reflected in the submitted Gantt chart.

c) Any modifications in the schedule of activities shall be made with the concurrence of the Pioneer-IBC and the DOST-BC

d) A biosafety contingency plan shall be submitted before the conduct of the experiment

e) The proponent shall be informed which activities would require the presence of the Pioneer-IBC, DOST-BC and PEQS-BPI personnel.

f) The proponent shall ensure that only the DOST-BC authorized personnel are allowed inside the experimental facilities.

g) The DOST-BC and PEQS-BPI personnel should be informed in advance of any visitations by unauthorized persons.

h) The DOST-BC and the PEQS-BPI personnel shall be informed immediately of any intrusion by unauthorized persons.

i) The proponent shall ensure that stray animals are excluded from the experimental facilities while tests are being conducted.

j) In case of undue destruction of experimental materials resulting from unauthorized entry of personnel or breach of containment of experimental facilities, the proponent shall implement measures to prevent the inadvertent escape of any viable material within the site.

k) The proponent and the supervising IBC shall be held accountable for the undue destruction of the experimental materials and the consequences that their inadvertent escape may cause to the surrounding environment.

l) All plants and viable materials within the experiment area shall be accounted for.

m) The proponent shall strictly observe proper disposal procedures for all materials.

n) Movement of all materials will be done in compliance with all relevant biosafety and phytosanitary requirements of the Philippines.

o) Any additional requirement that the DOST-BC may impose, as necessary, during the duration of the experiment shall be complied with.

p) The proponent shall submit, through the IBC, a completion report within 90 days after completion of the experiment.

DuPont Pioneer developed the Seed Production Technology (SPT) process for production of male-sterile female inbred parents used in maize hybrid seed production. Hybrid maize seed production requires crossing two inbred parent lines. The female inbred parent must be prevented from shedding pollen to avoid self-pollination that reduces hybrid seed quality and compromises hybrid yield potential. The SPT process makes transient use of a transgenic SPT maintainer inbred line event DP-32138-1 (referred to as 32138 SPT maintainer) early in the parent seed multiplication process to produce male-sterile female inbred parent seed. The 32138 SPT maintainer is used as a pollinator to propagate the seed of male-sterile female inbred parent lines. This parent seed does not inherit the SPT insertion from the 31238 SPT maintainer. The SPT process can offer a number of advantages over other approaches to controlling male-fertility in female inbred parents, such as detasseling (physical removal of the pollen-producing tassels) or cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS). The SPT process is a novel seed production technology that can contribute to a more reliable hybrid seed supply and further improve quality of hybrid seeds for the Filipino farmer.

The proponent will construct a soil-based greenhouse facility in a secured location in Barangay Masaya Bay, Laguna. The proposed greenhouse trial will be conducted from May to November 2013 to evaluate the genetic efficiency of the 32138 SPT maintainer and 32138x1507xNK603 SPT maintainer stack as well as to compare selected phenotypic characteristics with its isogenic male-fertile inbred. Non-transgenic near-isoline male-sterile inbred and non-transgenic near-isoline male-fertile inbred will be used as controls for 32138 SPT maintainer; and 1507xNK603 male-sterile inbred and 1507xNK603 male-stertile inbred will be used as controls for the 32138x1507xNK603 SPT maintainer stack in the proposed greenhouse trial. Maize event NK603 is approved for propagation in the Philippines, while maize event 1507 had undergone contained and multi-location field trials in the Philippines under the supervision of NCBP and DA-BPI, respectively. All inbred lines that will be used in the study are tropically-adapted and of similar genetic background. All seed materials will be sourced from Pioneer Hi-Bred breeding nursery in the US and will be imported in the country following an approved import permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry.