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

<p style="text-align: justify;">The transgenic cotton lines 31807 and 31808 were field tested in the United States and it was concluded that they 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 lines 31807 and 31808 are 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>. There are no wild relatives or wild populations of cotton in Canada that can naturally hybridize with <i>G. hirsutum</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 lines 31807 and 31808 and their potential hybrid offspring. Resistance to specific lepidopteran insects, 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. Since both lines were to be cultivated in a managed agricultural system there would be very little selective pressure for these plants to become weeds. It was concluded that it was unlikely that the traits would confer any selective advantage to the cotton lines 31807 and 31808.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">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;">It was concluded that the genes inserted into the transgenic cotton lines 31807 and 31808 would not result in any deleterious effects or significant impacts on nontarget organisms, with the exception of the target lepidopteran caterpillars, including those that are recognized as beneficial to agriculture and those that are recognized as threatened or endangered in the United States.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The novel proteins, Cry1Ac, nitrilase and NPTII expressed in cotton lines 31807 and 31808 are not known to have any toxic effects on any nontarget organisms. The lack of known toxicity for these proteins and their low levels of 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;">The transgenic cotton lines 31807 and 31808 had no novel phenotypic characteristics that would extend their 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 cotton lines 31807 and 31808 to species in unmanaged environments was not significant.</p>
