Monsanto Company; Availability of Petition and Environmental Assessment for Determination of Nonregulated Status for Corn Genetically Engineered To Express High Lysine Levels

Riepilogo

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from Monsanto Company, seeking a determination of nonregulated status for corn designated as transformation event LY038, which has been genetically engineered to express a lysine-insensitive dihydrodipicolinate synthase (cDHDPS) enzyme, which allows for the accumulation of higher levels of lysine in the germ of the seed. Corn-soybean meal based diets formulated for poultry and swine are characteristically deficient in lysine and require the addition of supplemental lysine for optimal animal growth and production. This corn product may provide an alternative to supplementation of feed with lysine. The petition has been submitted in accordance with our regulations concerning the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms and products. In accordance with those regulations, we are soliciting public comments on whether this corn presents a plant pest risk. We are also making available for public comment an environmental assessment for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.