title: Transgenic Cry1Ab rice does not impact ecological fitness and predation of a generalist spider.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The commercial release of rice genetically engineered to express a Cry1Ab protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for control of Lepidoptera in China is a subject of debate. One major point of the debate has focused on the ecological safety of Bt rice on nontarget organisms, especially predators and parasitoids that help control populations of insect pests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A tritrophic bioassay was conducted to evaluate the potential impact of Cry1Ab-expressing rice on fitness parameters of a predaceous ground spider (Pardosa pseudoannulata (Bösenberg et Strand)) that had fed on Bt rice-fed brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)) nymphs. Survival, development time and fecundity of this spider were not different when they were fed with Bt rice-fed or non-Bt rice-fed prey. Furthermore, ELISA and PCR gut assays, as well as a functional response trial, indicated that predation by P. pseudoannulata was not significantly different in Bt rice or non-Bt rice fields.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The transgenic Cry1Ab rice lines tested in this study had no adverse effects on the survival, developmental time and fecundity of P. pseudoannulata in the laboratory or on predation under field conditions. This suggests that this important predator would not be harmed if transgenic Cry1Ab rice were commercialized.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Ce
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhao-Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yu-Fa
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Cui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.forename: Gong-Yin
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009036:Moths; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D013112:Spiders / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis