<p style="text-align: justify;">The soybean line MON98788 was developed to allow for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup&reg;, as a weed control option for soybean. This genetically engineered soybean variety contains a glyphosate tolerant form of the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) isolated from the common soil bacterium, <i>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</i> strain CP4 (CP4 EPSPS).</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The EPSPS enzyme is part of the shikimate pathway that is involved in the production of aromatic amino acids and other aromatic compounds in plants (Steinrucken &amp; Amrhein, 1980). When conventional plants are treated with glyphosate, the plants cannot produce the aromatic amino acids needed to survive. This enzyme is present in all plants, bacteria, fungi, but not in animals, which do not synthesize their own aromatic amino acids. Because the aromatic amino acid biosynthetic pathway is not present in mammalian, avian or aquatic life forms, glyphosate has little if any toxicity for these organisms (U.S. EPA, 1993; WHO, 1994; Williams <i>et al</i>. 2000). The EPSPS enzyme is normally present in food derived from plant and microbial sources.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">MON89788 was developed by introducing the CP4 EPSPS gene into a commercial soybean variety using <i>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</i>-mediated transformation of meristem-derived material from soybean variety A3244. A3244 is an elite maturity group III soybean variety which was developed and selected for transformation based on its superior agronomic performance over other soybean lines.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Glyphosate-tolerant soybeans were planted on less than 5% of the U.S. soybean acreage in 1996. Globally, over 50 million hectares of glyphosate-tolerant soybeans were planted in 2007. One of the reasons growers have rapidly adopted the glyphosate-tolerant soybean is the simplicity it offers in weed control. Since glyphosate containing herbicides are highly effective against the vast majority of annual and perennial grasses and broadleaf weeds, growers planting glyphosate tolerant soybeans are able to reduce the number of herbicides used to control the economically destructive weeds that grow in their fields and thereby realize a savings in weed control costs. This reduction in herbicides used has benefited the environment by reducing the number of herbicide applications and also allows growers to implement integrated weed management practices in their fields - practices that are generally not possible when pre-plant or pre-emergent herbicides are used.</p>
