title: Bt crops benefit natural enemies to control non-target pests.
abstract: Crops producing insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) control important lepidopteran pests. However, pests such as aphids not susceptible to Cry proteins may require other integrated pest management (IPM) tactics, including biological control. We fed aphids on Bt and non-Bt plants and analyzed the Bt protein residue in aphids and compared the effects of Bt plants and a pyrethroid, lambda-cyhalothrin, on the performance of three natural enemies (predators: Coleomegilla maculata and Eupeodes americanus; parasitoid Aphidius colemani) of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. No Bt protein residues in aphids were detected and no significant differences were recorded in the performance of pyrethroid-resistant aphids that fed on Bt broccoli expressing Cry1Ab or Cry1C, or on non-Bt broccoli plants treated or not treated with the pyrethroid. This indicated the aphids were not affected by the Cry proteins or the pyrethroid, thus removing any effect of prey quality. Tri-trophic experiments demonstrated that no C. maculata and E. americanus survived consumption of pyrethroid-treated aphids and that ovipositional behavior of A. colemani was impaired when provided with pyrethroid-treated aphids. In contrast, natural enemies were not affected when fed aphids reared on Bt broccoli, thus demonstrating the safety of these Bt plants for IPM.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310021, China.|Department of Entomology, Cornell University/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES), Geneva, New York, 14456, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jun-Ce
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Cornell University/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES), Geneva, New York, 14456, United States of America.|Institute of Plant Protection, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830091, China.
authors.forename: Ju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Cornell University/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES), Geneva, New York, 14456, United States of America.|Rice Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, Guangxi, 530007, China.
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Agroscope, Institute for Sustainability Sciences ISS, Zürich, 8046, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Romeis
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Cornell University/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES), Geneva, New York, 14456, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Shelton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D019476:Insect Proteins; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C095416:Cry toxin receptors; D019476:Insect Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface