title: Transgenic insecticidal crops and natural enemies: a detailed review of laboratory studies.
abstract: This review uses a data-driven, quantitative method to summarize the published, peer-reviewed literature about the impact of genetically modified (GM) plants on arthropod natural enemies in laboratory experiments. The method is similar to meta-analysis, and, in contrast to a simple author-vote counting method used by several earlier reviews, gives an objective, data-driven summary of existing knowledge about these effects. Significantly more non-neutral responses were observed than expected at random in 75% of the comparisons of natural enemy groups and response classes. These observations indicate that Cry toxins and proteinase inhibitors often have non-neutral effects on natural enemies. This synthesis identifies a continued bias toward studies on a few predator species, especially the green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea Stephens, which may be more sensitive to GM insecticidal plants (16.8% of the quantified parameter responses were significantly negative) than predators in general (10.9% significantly negative effects without C. carnea). Parasitoids were more susceptible than predators to the effects of both Cry toxins and proteinase inhibitors, with fewer positive effects (18.0%, significant and nonsignificant positive effects combined) than negative ones (66.1%, significant and nonsignificant negative effects combined). GM plants can have a positive effect on natural enemies (4.8% of responses were significantly positive), although significant negative (21.2%) effects were more common. Although there are data on 48 natural enemy species, the database is still far from adequate to predict the effect of a Bt toxin or proteinase inhibitor on natural enemies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrated Pest Management, Aarhus University, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Flakkebjerg Research Centre, DK-4200 Slagelse, Denmark. gabor.lovei@agrsci.dk
authors.forename: Gabor L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Lövei
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Andow
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arpaia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000254:growth & development; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D007306:Insecticides; D007814:Larva; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D007306:Insecticides; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis