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

<p style="text-align: justify;">Transgenic BXN&trade; cotton was field tested in the United States at a total of 57 sites in 13 states. Field tests were also conducted in Argentina, Bolivia, and South Africa in accordance with national regulatory requirements. Based on data collected from these trials, it was concluded that this transgenic cotton line 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;">Cotton (<i>Gossypium hirsutum</i>) is mainly a self-pollinating plant, but insects, especially bumblebees and honeybees, also routinely transfer pollen. The pollen is heavy and sticky and the range of natural crossing is limited. Outcrossing rates of up to 28% to other cotton cultivars have been observed under field conditions and decline rapidly with distance from the pollen source. Given proximity and the availability of insects as pollen vectors, transgenic cotton line BXN&trade; is likely to hybridize with other cotton varieties.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">In the United States, compatible species include <i>G. hirsutum</i> (wild or under cultivation), <i>G. barbadense</i> (cultivated Pima cotton), and <i>G. tomentosum</i>. It was reported that gene movement from <i>G. hirsutum</i> to <i>G. barbadense</i> may be possible given suitable conditions, while gene transfer to <i>G. tomentosum</i> is less probable due to chromosomal incompatibility and non-synchronous flowering periods. Overall, the probability of gene transfer in the wild is unlikely due to the relatively isolated distribution of Gossypium species, different breeding systems, and genome incompatibility. Hybrids resulting from artificial crosses between cotton and wild species are generally sterile, unstable and of poor fitness.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">The introduced genes were not expected to confer an ecological advantage to transgenic cotton line BXN&trade; and its potential hybrid offspring. Tolerance to bromoxynil herbicide and kanamycin resistance will not render cotton weedy or invasive of natural habitats since none of the reproductive or growth characteristics have been modified.<br />
There are no specific problems with cotton as a weed. Cottonseed may remain in the field after harvesting and germinate under favourable conditions. Seeds may also survive mild and dry winters. Suitable treatments for any volunteers in the next crop include cultivation and the use of herbicides other than bromoxynil.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">The novel proteins, nitrilase and NPTII, are not known to have any toxic properties on any nontarget organisms. The lack of known toxicity for these proteins and the low levels of their expression in plant tissue suggest no potential for deleterious effects on beneficial organisms such as bees and earthworms. Both nitrilase and NPTII act on a narrow range of substrates making it unlikely that these compounds would react with other substances to produce novel toxic compounds in organisms that consume these transgenic cotton lines.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">This transgenic cotton line has no novel phenotypic characteristics that would extend its use beyond the current geographic range of cotton production. As 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 from BXN&trade; cotton to species in unmanaged environments was not significant.</p>
