Studying the effect of exposure of the snail Helix aspersa to the purified Bt toxin, Cry1Ab

Abstract

The present study was intended to assess the effect of the Bt toxin, Cry1Ab, on the snail, Helix aspersa. We studied hatchability of eggs as well as growth and survival of the juvenile snails . The eggs were exposed to purified Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab toxin mixed in with soil in 0, 11, 22, 44 or 88 mg Bt kg −1. To check the growth and survival of the juvenile snails, we conducted two different sets of experiments. In the first experiment, the snails were exposed to soil mixed with Bt toxin in 0, 5.5, 11, 22 or 44 mg Bt kg −1 concentrations. In the second experiment, the snails were fed a diet with pure Bt toxin at 0, 11, 44 or 88 mg Bt kg −1 dry weight. We found that Bt toxin has no negative effect on H. aspersa during the observed life stages.