Monsanto outlines the use of GM cotton on up to 20 sites in Australia Photo: Stephanie Berghaeuser

Monsanto Australia has filed an application for the intentional release of genetically modified cotton intended to enhance water efficiency.

The company outlines the use of GM cotton on up to 20 sites in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, including Lake Tandou, Brisbane, Narrabri and Wyndham-East Kimberley. The trial seeks to evaluate agronomic characteristics, including water use efficiency, yield and fibre quality, under both optimal and water stress conditions.

Up to 504 GM cotton lines are proposed for release, involving 56 genes derived from various plants, bacteria, yeast or fungi, including Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress), Physcomitrella patens (moss) and Saccharomyces cervisiae (fungus). Sites will cover up to 40 ha of land in total, from 2008 to 2010.

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The cotton lines were modified by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation, a widely used method in Australia. 21 of the 56 genes, including the names of introduced genes, their encoding proteins and gene constructs, have been declared Confidential Commercial Information (CCI). Monsanto has requested the details of the other 35 genes be similarly protected, which is currently under review.

Monsanto has outlined a number of control measures for the research, including locating sites at least 50m away from natural waterways, harvesting all cotton plant materials separately from other commercial cotton crops, monitoring the sites after harvest for a minimum of 12 months and not using the GM plants or seeds for either human or animal consumption.

Monsanto was previously granted a licence for the release of GM cotton lines containing 21 of the same genes for enhanced water use efficiency in 2006. Although there have been no releases of GM cotton lines containing the other 35 genes for water use efficiency in Australia, trials have been conducted in the US, where no adverse effects on human health or the environment have been reported to result from the releases.

A Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) is expected to be released for comment in mid May 2008.

The team has voiced optimism at the potential for helping produce crops tolerant to drought. “The impact could be in the billions of dollars – we’d certainly see food prices going down,” Mittler says. “But in Third World countries, for example, this research ultimately could save lives.”

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