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

<p style="text-align: justify;">Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is primarily a self-pollinating plant. Gene transfer can occur by wind-mediated pollination to other T. aestivum plants, however outcrossing rates are usually low (The potential for introgression of the novel trait into weedy relatives of wheat in Canada and the United States is also very low. Wild species closely related to T. aestivum in the continental United States and Canada are <i>Aegilops cylindria</i> Host (jointed goat grass) and <i>Agropyron repens</i> (L.) Beauv. (quackgrass). Both of these are introduced species, native to Eurasia, and are considered weedy and invasive in Canada and the United States. Jointed goat grass is an annual, found in most of the United States, but not in Canada. It is considered a noxious weed in British Columbia due to the proximity of populations in Washington, Idaho and Montana, but is also found in other states contiguous to Canada, <i>i.e.</i>, North Dakota, Michigan, Ohio and New York. It would not be expected to become established in Canada except in southwestern British Columbia and southwestern Ontario. Hybridization of jointed goat grass with wheat can occur under field conditions and has been reported in Oregon. The hybridization was successful to the first backgross generation with jointed goat grass as the female plant. This has raised concerns of possible introgression of wheat into jointed goat grass populations as introgression of an herbicide tolerant trait from wheat into jointed goatgrass would confer an additional advantage to this weedy species. Quackgrass is a perennial species found extensively in Canada and the United States. Reports of hybridization between wheat and quackgrass have been reported; however, these have not been successfully reproduced by manual pollination. Due to the doubtful nature of any hybridizations between wheat and quackgrass, gene introgression into quackgrass populations is not expected to occur.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cultivated wheat is not considered a weed of agriculture. Wheat plants can volunteer in fields following a wheat crop but these can be controlled by cultivation or herbicides. No competitive advantage was conferred to BW255-2 or BW238-3, other than resistance to imidazolinone herbicides. Results from agronomic performance field trials and compositional data show that the physiology of BW255-2 and BW238-3 was not affected by the mutation of the AHAS gene. BW255-2 and BW238-3 are not expected to become weedy or invasive of natural habitats since neither vegetative growth or reproductive characteristics were altered. Wheat volunteers expressing the modified AHAS gene are therefore not expected to become weedier than conventional wheat volunteers. These will not be controlled by imidazolinone herbicides, thereby providing less flexibility in herbicide use.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">The characterization of the modified AHAS gene containing a single base pair change, and the resulting modified enzyme, led to the conclusion that the expression of the modified enzyme does not result in altered toxic or allergenic properties. The modified AHAS enzyme was found to be substantially equivalent to AHAS in nonmodified plants. The AHAS enzyme is not a known toxin, does not confer resistance to agricultural pests, and is naturally present in plants and micro-organisms. It is similar to conventional wheat in terms of vegetative growth and seed production. Based on this information, BW255-2 and BW238-3 would not result in altered impacts on non-target organisms, compared to conventional wheat varieties.</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify;">BW255-2 and BW238-3 do not possess novel phenotypic characteristics that would extend cultivation beyond the current geographic range of spring wheat. Neither do they possess characteristics that would allow them to grow and compete under soil and climatic conditions for which they are not adapted. The herbicide-tolerant trait, in itself, will not confer to any potential hybrids any competitive advantage other than tolerance to imidazolinone herbicides. BW255-2 and BW238-3 have also been found safe to non-target organisms and do not display altered plant pest potential since agronomic and biological characteristics were found to be within the range of conventional wheat varieties.</p>
