Transgenic cotton lines 1445 and 1698 were developed by using recombinant DNA techniques to introduce a gene for EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase), isolated from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 that encodes an enzyme which is naturally tolerant to glyphosate, the active ingredient of Roundupþ herbicide. <br>In addition, nptII (neomycin phosphotransferase II) gene isolated from bacterial transposon Tn5 that codes for resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin to function as a selectable marker in plants, and another selectable marker gene aad (3"(9)-O-aminoglycoside adenylyltransferase (AAD) to function in bacterial cells to confer resistance to streptomycin and spectinomycin antibiotics but does not express have also been introduced into lines 1445 and 1698.  The transgenic cotton lines that are the subject of the petition were developed by a widely used technique called Agro-infection which essentially involves using a plant pathogenic strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its disarmed plasmid vector.<br>Roundupþ herbicide contains the active ingredient glyphosate which is a non-selective, post-emergent weed control agent.  The target site of action of glyphosate is EPSPS that is present in all plants, bacteria, and fungi as a component of the Shikimate pathway of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis.  The CP4 EPSPS which is naturally resistant to the inhibition by glyphosate has been introduced into 1445 and 1698 to confer tolerance to the foliar application of glyphosate.<br>Cotton line 1445 differs from non-transgenic cotton only in the insertion of three new genes, EPSPS, nptII, and aad, and in the expression of two new proteins, EPSPS and NPTII. The aad gene is not expressed in the modified cotton. The new proteins are expressed in all tissues of the plant and throughout the plant's lifecycle, and average less than 0.001% of cotton seed protein.<br>Approximately 40% of the cottonseed crop is used as animal feedstuff while the remainder is used in processed goods and as a food ingredient. 73% of cottonseed oil in North America is used in salad and cooking oil. About 21% of the oil is baking and frying, 2% is used in margarine and 1% is used for inedible products. Refined, bleached and deodorized cottonseed oil, the oil used for human consumption, derived from cotton line 1445 was demonstrated to contain no detectable protein. Therefore, there would be no human dietary exposure to the proteins introduced into cotton line 1445.<br>Compositional comparison of cottonseed oil from line 1445 was made to commercial non-transgenic cottonseed oil. Comparison included the fatty acid profile of the oils, vitamin E levels and levels of cyclopropenoid fatty acids and alpha-tocopherol. The composition of the oil from cotton line 1445 was comparable to that for cottonseed oil from non-transgenic commercial cotton varieties and components were within the normal range reported for cottonseed oil.