Abstract
Soybean tissue and arthropods were collected in Bt soybean fields in China at different times during the growing season to investigate the exposure of arthropods to the plant-produced Cry1Ac toxin and the transmission of the toxin within the food web. Samples from 52 arthropod species/taxa belonging to 42 families in 10 orders were analysed for their Cry1Ac content using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among the 22 species/taxa for which three samples were analysed, toxin concentration was highest in the grasshopper Atractomorpha sinensis and represented about 50% of the concentration in soybean leaves. Other species/taxa did not contain detectable toxin or contained a concentration that was between 1 and 10% of that detected in leaves. These Cry1Ac-positive arthropods included a number of mesophyll-feeding Hemiptera, a cicadellid, a curculionid beetle and, among the predators, a thomisid spider and an unidentified predatory bug belonging to the Anthocoridae. Within an arthropod species/taxon, the Cry1Ac content sometimes varied between life stages (nymphs/larvae vs. adults) and sampling dates (before, during, and after flowering). Our study is the first to provide information on Cry1Ac-expression levels in soybean plants and Cry1Ac concentrations in non-target arthropods in Chinese soybean fields. The data will be useful for assessing the risk of non-target arthropod exposure to Cry1Ac in soybean.
Highlights
Modified (GM) crops expressing cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used to control major insect pests and are an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) systems [1,2,3,4]
The objective of our study was to characterize the level at which different arthropod species are exposed to the Cry protein when foraging in Bt soybean fields
The current report provides the first data concerning the exposure of non-target arthropods to Cry proteins in Bt soybean fields
Summary
Modified (GM) crops expressing cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used to control major insect pests and are an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) systems [1,2,3,4]. The damage caused by lepidopteran pests greatly reduces soybean yield and quality [5]. Monsanto Company has developed an insect-resistant transgenic soybean cultivar called MON87701. This soybean line expresses the cry1Ac gene and exhibits excellent efficacy against some lepidopteran pests [6,7]. Before a new GM plant is grown in the field, its potential for harming valuable non-target organisms (NTO) is determined as part of an environmental risk assessment [8,9,10,11]. Knowledge about the NTOs most likely to be exposed to the insecticidal compound enables researchers to determine which species should be the focus of risk assessment [12,13,14]
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