MON89034 x NK603 cultivation

MON89034 x NK603 (YieldGard VT PRO/RR2) is one of a growing number applications for Monsanto's YieldGard VT PRO (MON89034) hybrids as food/feed or for cultivation, many of which were filed even before MON89034 itself was authorized by the EU Commission as food/feed in the EU.

MON89034 produces two Bt toxins (Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2) against a number of lepidopteran pest, but little is know about these Bt toxins. Cry1A.105 is not really one Bt toxin, but a protein comprised of naturally occurring Cry1Ab, Cry1F, and Cry1Ac proteins. The gene cry1A.105 is a chimeric gene comprising of 4 domains from other cry genes previously used in transgenic plants.
Not even the US authorities have deregulated Cry1A.105, instead only in March 2009 the EPA established an 18-month, time-limited exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for Cry1A.105 residues in cotton food/feed products.
Cry2Ab2 belongs to the class of Cry2Ab toxins that are currently mainly used in Bt cotton plants.

NK603 is one of Monsanto's Roundup Ready maize events that contains two transgenic cp4-epsps genes under the control of two different promotors.

The clock for the assessment was stopped in January 2010.