Safety Assessment of the CP4 EPSPS and NPTII Proteins in Eucalyptus

Abstract

ABSTRACT Glyphosate herbicide treatment is essential to sustainable Eucalyptus plantation management in Brazil. Eucalyptus is highly sensitive to glyphosate, and Suzano/FuturaGene has genetically modified eucalyptus to tolerate glyphosate, with the aim of both protecting eucalyptus trees from glyphosate application damage and improving weed management. This study presents the biosafety results of the glyphosate-tolerant eucalyptus event 751K032, which expresses the selection marker neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII) enzyme and CP4-EPSPS, a glyphosate-tolerant variant of plant 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate−3-phosphate synthase enzyme. The transgenic genetically modified (GM) event 751K032 behaved in the plantations like conventional non-transgenic eucalyptus clone, FGN-K, and had no effects on arthropods and soil microorganisms. The engineered NPTII and CP4 EPSPS proteins were heat-labile, readily digestible, and according to the bioinformatics analyses, unlikely to cause an allergenic or toxic reaction in humans or animals. This assessment of the biosafety of the glyphosate-tolerant eucalyptus event 751K032 concludes that it is safe to be used for wood production.