Strains of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are known to produce crystalline proteins (δ-endotoxins) concomitantly with sporulation during their stationary phase of growth, which are demonstrated as lethal to lepidopeterous, coleopeterous and dipterous insects in addition to mites, nematodes, protozoa and flukes. Upon ingestion, the δ-nascent endotoxin is an inactive protoxin complex of (Cry alone o...

Decreased larval feeding and weight of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L., have been detected after 4 d of exposure in the laboratory to a high density of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-expressing anthers. One hypothesis is that larvae exposed to Bt anthers exhibit increased wandering, resulting in less feeding and lower weight gain. To test this hypothesis, 2-d-old monarch butterfly larva...

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill) is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and lycopene, which has many health benefits. However, its production hampered by bacterial wilt caused Ralstonia solanacearum resulting in significant yield losses. Use chemicals the control plant pathogens detrimental effects on humans environment terms leaving residues soil later find their way into underground wat...

Honey bee pollination is a key ecosystem service to nature and agriculture. However, biosafety research on genetically modified crops rarely considers effects on nurse bees from intact colonies, even though they receive and primarily process the largest amount of pollen. The objective of this study was to analyze the response of nurse bees and their gut bacteria to pollen from Bt maize expressi...

The current difficulty facing risk evaluations of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops on nontarget arthropods (NTAs) is the lack of criteria for determining what represents unacceptable risk. In this study, we investigated the biological parameters in the laboratory and field population abundance of Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) on two Bt rice lines and the non-Bt parent, together w...

In this study, we evaluated in field trials the effects on non-target species, of transgenic corn producing the Cry1Ab toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). In 1998, we collected Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) larvae from transgenic Bt corn (Novartis Hybrid 176) and non-Bt corn at four geographical sites. We found a significant variation in parasitism by the tachinids Lydella thompsoni (Herting) a...

Widely grown transgenic crops producing insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) can benefit agriculture, but adaptation by pests threatens their continued success. Refuges of host plants that do not make Bt toxins can promote survival of susceptible insects and delay evolution of resistance, particularly if resistance is inherited as a recessive trait. However, data have been lac...

A 200-day study was carried out to investigate the impact of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn on immature and adult Lumbricus terrestris in the field and in the laboratory. Another objective of this study was to develop test methods that could be used for standard testing of the impact of transgenic plants on different earthworm species in the field and in the laboratory. For this pu...

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 ...

Bt cotton are plants that have been genetically modified to express the insecticidal proteins Cry 1 Ac from subspecies of the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bt), to control bollworm pest that feed on cotton. There is a persistent environmental concern that transgenic Bt-crops carry genes that have indirect undesirable effect to natural and agro– ecosystem function. We investigat...