Comparison of RF3 B. juncea to RF3 B. napus

Abstract

RF3 Brassica napus L. (InVigorTM Canola) has been in commercial cultivation since 1997. RF3 B. napus was produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation to provide glufosniate ammonium herbicide tolerance to the crop. Canola quality (CQ) varieties of Brassica juncea L. (Czern & Coss), a close relative of B. napus, have been available in Canada for more than 20 years. Currently, BASF Agricultural Solutions is developing CQ RF3 B. juncea via conventional breeding with RF3 B. napus to provide similar herbicide tolerance in the B. juncea species. The insertion event RF3 contains the bar gene (origin Streptomyces hygroscopicus) coding for phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT/bar) protein which confers tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium herbicides. RF3 also contains the barstar gene (origin Bacillus amyloliquefaciens), coding for the Barstar protein, which is an inhibitor of the Barnase protein. In the absence of Barnase, there is no impact of Barstar. Many safety studies have been conducted during the development of the canola quality lines of RF3 B. napus and RF3 B. juncea. This report seeks to compare the two species based on the scientific data generated during the safety assessments of RF3 B. napus and RF3 B. juncea and discusses the utility of using studies with one species to support the safety of the other species both containing the same insertion event.