Cisgenic plants could be allowed on the market without US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval under a proposed rule change aimed at reducing the regulatory burden for biotech crops. Cisgenic plants are formed by moving genetic material between sexually compatible species, such as from one variety of corn to another, using molecular biology tools. Some industry supporters say they are hopeful that cisgenic exemption is a first step in a broader effort by EPA to fully accept biotech crops as safe, and to exempt all genetically modified (GM) plants. “The usefulness of the proposed exemption to crop developers will depend on how narrowly the cisgenic exemption is defined,” says Adrianne Massey, managing director of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington, DC. “We will learn these details only after EPA publishes the proposed rule and requests comments.” At press time, the EPA had not released the draft rule to the public. The agency in March shared a draft with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which also regulates biotech crops, and the US Department of Health and Human Services, for their review. According to EPA documents, the purpose of the exemption is to “encourage research and development of useful biotechnology” and to reduce the number of GM plants seeking registration. “It would not be surprising for USDA to take a similar action,” says Doug Gurian-Sherman of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts.