GHB614

GHB614 is a variety of Roundup Ready cotton made by Bayer CropScience. Bayer introduced it in 2009 under the brand name " Glytol™. GHB614 cotton is genetically engineered to survive being sprayed with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup. Farmers are instructed to spray their entire fields of cotton with Roundup, killing the weeds and leaving the crop alive. Roundup Ready crops and genetically modified organisms are controversial around the world.

2008: Deregulation in Canada
GHB614 was deregulated in Canada on March 13, 2008.

2009: Deregulation in the U.S.
On November 28, 2006, Bayer CropScience submitted a petition to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the deregulation of its cotton variety GHB614. APHIS requested more information, and Bayer provided it on May 11, 2007. On June 18, 2008, APHIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the Monsanto petition was available for public review and soliciting public comments, due on or before August 18, 2008. The USDA conducted an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI). GHB614 cotton was deregulated on May 22, 2009

At the time of deregulation, APHIS wrote in the Federal Register:
 * "As described in the petition, cotton transformation event GHB614 utilizes the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene isolated from a previously deregulated cotton event (Event GA21; APHIS petition number 97–099–01) and introduces two amino acid substitutions within the EPSPS gene (designated 2mEPSPS). These modifications decrease the binding affinity to glyphosate, thus producing tolerance to the herbicide. The 2mEPSPS protein allows the plant to tolerate applications of the broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate. Regulatory elements for the transgenes were obtained from Agrobacterium tumefaciens and were introduced into cotton cells using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methodology. These regulatory sequences are not transcribed and do not encode proteins."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Roundup Ready Cotton
 * Roundup Ready Crops
 * Herbicide Tolerant Crops
 * Genetically Modified Organisms
 * Roundup
 * Glyphosate
 * Glyphosate Resistant Weeds
 * GMO Policies by Country
 * Bayer CropScience

External resources

 * GM Crop Database, Center for Environmental Risk Assessment
 * Overview of GMO Events Commercially Available and Regulatory Status
 * Novel Food Decisions - Approved Products, Health Canada.