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

<p style="text-align: justify;">The transgenic tomato line 1345-4 was field tested in the United States from 1992 to 1994. The agronomic characteristics of line 1345-4 were evaluated extensively in laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments. The line 1345-4 retained the agronomic characteristics of the parental tomato, and field reports on seed germination rates, yield characteristics, disease and pest susceptibilities, and fruit compositional analyses determined that line 1345-4 was comparable to the unmodified parental line, with the exception of reduced ACC synthase activity. Field trial reports demonstrated that transgenic tomato line 1345-4 did not exhibit weedy characteristics, and had 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 the limited availability of pollen and poor foraging activity of insect pollinators. Several related species are found as weeds in tomato fields, however tomato (<i>Lycopersicon esculentum</i> var. esculentum) 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. The cherry tomato, <i>L. esculentum</i> var. cerasiforme, can be crossed with tomato. However, it would be very unlikely for traits in transgenic tomato line 1345-4 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. It was concluded that the chance of genetic exchange both among tomato crops and to other species was remote. In the event that an outcrossing event involving pollen from tomato line 1345-4 did occur, it was unlikely the modification to delay fruit softening would affect seed persistence or weediness potential in progeny.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">Tomatoes are not considered a weed pest. There was no evidence to indicate that the presence of a truncated ACC synthase gene in line 1345-4 would convert it into a weed. 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&deg;C and winter cold will kill the majority of volunteer seedlings following harvest. Tomatoes are not persistent in undisturbed environments without human intervention. It was concluded that there was no likelihood that tomato line 1345-4 would have enhanced weediness traits compared to non-transformed tomatoes.</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 tomato line 1345-4 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. The truncated ACC synthase gene did not result in the expression of any new protein(s) in line 1345-4 and should not have any toxic properties.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">The transgenic tomato line 1345-4 has no novel phenotypic characteristics that would extend its 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 line 1345-4 to species in unmanaged environments was not significant.</p>
