Impact of Bt-corn MON88017 in comparison to three conventional lines on Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy) (Heteroptera: Miridae) field densities.
In Europe, Bt-corn resistant against the European Corn Borer has until now been the only genetically modified plant to be grown commercially. With the advent of the Western Corn Rootworm Bt-corn varieties with resistance against Coleoptera will become important. The cultivation of Bt-plants may have negative impacts on non-target organisms, i.e. all species not explicitly targeted by a given Bt-crop. One prominent non-target group in corn are the herbivorous plant bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae). They are common, abundant and exposed to the Cry-protein. We therefore assessed the potential impact of the cultivation of the Cry3Bb1-expressing Bt-corn variety MON88017 and three conventional varieties on this group. Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy) was the most abundant plant bug at the experimental field. There was no evidence for a negative impact of MON88017 on this species, despite its considerable exposure to Cry3Bb1 demonstrated with ELISA. The conventional corn varieties, however, had a consistent and significant influence on the field densities of this species over all three growing seasons.
Rauschen
Stefan
S
Institute of Environmental Research (Biologie V), RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Rauschen@Bio5.RWTH-Aachen.de
Schultheis
Eva
E
Pagel-Wieder
Sibylle
S
Schuphan
Ingolf
I
Eber
Sabine
S
D000818:Animals; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics*; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020062:Heteroptera; D007300:Insect Control; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics*
D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D012987:Soil; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis