On 8 October 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) released UK screening guidance for users and providers of synthetic nucleic acids. This guideline sets out the expectations for screening Sequences of Concern (SOCs) for all individuals and organisations involved in using and producing synthetic nucleic acids in the UK.
The guidelines define SOCs as:
“A nucleotide sequence that is known to contribute to pathogenicity, virulence, or toxicity. SOCs are sequences that are a best match to current and future iterations of regulated agents, except when the sequence is also found in an unregulated organism or toxin.
Key regulation includes:
– Schedule 5 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001
– Group 3 and 4 in Schedule 1 of the Special Animal Pathogens Order (SAPO)
– Hazard group 3 and 4 in the Approved List of biological agents under the Schedule 3 of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
– Human and animal pathogens and toxins for export controls in the UK Consolidated Strategic Export Controls List”
To help support the uptake of the UK screening guidance, the Centre for Long-Term Resilience has collated the list of biological agents and toxins contained in these four listed regulations. Where necessary, duplications have been removed. In some instances, where names have changed since the regulations were published or when pathogens are grouped in different fashions, entries have been kept for completeness.
It should be noted that, as per the UK guidelines and the above SOC definition, this collated list does not constitute the full list of sequences expected to be screened, and not all sequences from this list will be SOCs.
The UK guidelines encourage the development of a database for SOCs. As we have stated before in our report on Overcoming challenges with synthetic nucleic acid screening implementation, we encourage such development. Ultimately, we believe such a database should not be public, but instead should be housed within the Government.
For any clarifications or corrections to this list please contact biosecurity@longtermresilience.org
