The present document is a companion document to the Dir94-08 Assessment Criteria for Determining Environmental Safety of Plants with Novel Traits. It is intended to provide background information on the biology of Triticum turgidum spp. durum, its centers of origin, its related species and the potential for gene introgression into relatives, and details of the life forms with which it interacts. Such species-specific information will serve as a guide for addressing some of the information requirements found in Dir94-08. Specifically, it will be used to determine if there are significantly different/altered interactions with other life forms resulting from the PNT's novel gene products, which could potentially cause the PNT to become a weed of agriculture, become invasive in natural habitats, or be otherwise harmful to the environment.

The conclusions drawn in this document about the biology of T. durum only relate to plants of this species with no novel traits.