<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Field Testing</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes were field tested in the United States from 1988 to 1992. Field trials demonstrated that the variation in agronomic characteristics among the FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomato lines did not differ significantly from the natural variation found in commercial cultivars of tomato. These reports determined that FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes did not exhibit weedy characteristics, and have no effect on nontarget organisms or the general environment.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Outcrossing</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cultivated tomatoes are self-fertile, and almost exclusively self-pollinating. Their unique flower and anther morphology makes tomato an essentially cleistogamous plant (self-pollination and fertilization occur within an unopened flower). A low crossing rate between tomato varieties was demonstrated and attributed to limited availability of pollen and poor foraging activity of insect pollinators.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Several related species are found as weeds in tomato fields, however tomato is generally sexually incompatible with all these weedy relatives. Two Solanum species, <i>S. lycopersicoides</i> and <i>S. rickii</i>, can be crossed with commercial tomato under specific, controlled conditions, but they do not naturally cross with <i>L. esculentum</i> and require the intervention of man. Neither Solanum species is a weed pest in the United States.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The cherry tomato, <i>L. esculentum</i> var. cerasiforme can be crossed with tomato, <i>L. esculentum</i> var. esculentum. However, it would be very unlikely for traits from FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomato to naturally introgress into cherry tomatoes (var. cerasiforme) in the United States since the rate of outcrossing in tomatoes is low and cherry tomatoes are not common in areas devoted to large-scale cultivation of tomatoes.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">It was concluded that the chance of genetic exchange both among tomato crops and with other species, was species remote. In the event that an outcrossing event involving pollen from a FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomato did occur, it was unlikely the antisense modification to delay fruit softening could affect seed persistence or weediness potential in progeny. Field testing determined that the expression of the antisense PG gene did not change any morphological or physiological characteristics which might affect pollination. It was determined that there was no likelihood that these modified tomato lines would gain a selective advantage that would enable FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes to become weeds or increase the weedy potential of another plant.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Weediness Potential</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomato has little potential to become a weed. There were no morphological, physiological, or disease resistance characteristics of the FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomato that differed significantly from the agricultural practices used normally for the propagation of tomatoes, with the exception of having the potential to be left longer in the field to ripen. Although having an increased field ripening period, FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes eventually decay into components, which are presumably identical to the decay components of nontransgenic tomatoes. FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomato differed with respect to having an increased resistance to certain fungal pathogens, likely due to the increased integrity of the cell walls.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Tomatoes are not considered a weed pest. Tomato volunteers are not uncommon, but are easily controlled using herbicides or by mechanical means. Seed dispersal by birds or mammals is insignificant. Furthermore, due to its tropical origin, tomato is very sensitive to temperatures below 10&ordm;C and winter cold will kill the majority of volunteer seedlings following harvest. Tomatoes are not persistent in undisturbed environments without human intervention.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Secondary and Non-Target Adverse Effects</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">It was concluded that the genes inserted into FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes would not result in any deleterious effects or significant impacts on nontarget organisms, including those that are recognized as beneficial to agriculture and those that are recognized as threatened or endangered in the United States. Since the antisense PG gene construct did not result in the production of any new protein(s), there is unlikely to be any associated toxicity. Field testing determined that there were no significant differences in the susceptibility of modified and non-modified crops to pests and diseases. Analysis of biochemical components of FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes were compared to nontransgenic tomatoes and no toxic components were identified in concentrations that differed significantly from the concentrations found in nontransgenic tomatoes. Furthermore, FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes have neither direct pathogenic properties nor any hypothetical mechanisms for pathogenesis.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Impact on Biodiversity</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes have no novel phenotypic characteristics that would extend their use beyond the current geographic range of tomato production. Since the risk of gene transfer to wild relatives in the United States is very remote, it was determined that the risk of transferring genetic traits of FLAVR SAVR&trade; tomatoes to species in unmanaged environments was not significant.</p>
