<p style="text-align: justify;">MON15985 x MON88913 (OECD identifier: MON-15985-7 x MON-88913-8) cotton is the product of the cross-breeding of the insect-resistant cotton line 15985 (MON-15985-7) with the herbicide-tolerant cotton line MON88913 (OECD: MON-88913-8). This stacked cotton line is a product of traditional plant breeding, and therefore is not automatically subject to regulation in all jurisdictions as are transgenic plants resulting from recombinant DNA technologies. Certain jurisdictions may request notification in advance of the release of a stacked hybrid, or may request information to conduct an environmental and food safety assessment. Examples of jurisdictions that require either notification or information about stacked hybrids prior to their release into the environment, and for use in human food and livestock feed are Japan and the Philippines.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The stacked cotton line 15985 X MON88913 expresses three novel proteins: the delta-endotoxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab, both of which confer resistance to the lepidopteran pests of cotton, such as the cotton bollworm, pink bollworm and tobacco budworm, and the CP4 EPSPS protein which confers tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. The insecticidal proteins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab are produced by the <i>cry1Ac</i> gene and <i>cry2Ab</i> genes respectively, both of which are from 15985. The CP4 EPSPS protein is produced by two <i>cp4 epsps</i> genes from MON88913 to confer tolerance to glyphosate later in the growing season, specifically after the fifth true leaf stage. The novel traits of each parental line have been combined, through traditional plant breeding, to produce this new cotton line. For a full description of each parental line please refer to the individual product descriptions in the crop database for 15985 and MON88913.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The inserted genes and their gene products have a history of safe use, and have undergone review and approval by several regulatory agencies. No interactions among the gene products or negative synergistic effects are expected in the stacked hybrid. Since neither Cry1Ac, nor Cry2Ab are enzymes, these proteins have no effect on plant metabolism. The CP4 EPSPS has high affinity for its substrates phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and shikimate-3-phosphate, which are part of the shikimate metabolic pathway. CP4 EPSPS, Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab are therefore not expected to interact within, nor affect the metabolism of the stacked line.</p>
