Glyphosate-tolerant cotton: The composition of the cottonseed is equivalent to that of conventional cottonseed

An important aspect of the safety assessment of genetically modified crops to be used for human food and animal feed is the product composition, including nutrients and antinutrients. Cotton lines have been developed that are tolerant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. The glyphosate-tolerant lines were generated by the stable insertion of a glyphosate tolerance gene in a common variety of cotton. The glyphosate tolerance gene encodes for 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 (CP4 EPSPS). The composition of the cottonseed and oil from two glyphosate-tolerant lines (GTCot), 1445 and 1698, was compared to that of the parental variety Coker 312 and to published values for other commercial cotton varieties. The nutrients measured in the cottonseed were protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrate, calories, moisture, ash, amino acids, and fatty acids. The antinutrients measured in the cottonseed included gossypol, cyclopropenoid fatty acids, and aflatoxin. In addition, the fatty acid profile and alpha-tocopherol levels were measured in the refined oil. These analyses demonstrated that the glyphosate-tolerant cotton lines are compositionally equivalent and as safe and nutritious as the parental and conventional cotton varieties commercially available.