Abstract
BACKGROUND: The effect of transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) containing a lepidopteran-specific Bt toxin on a stored-product pest, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, and its parasitoid, Lariophagus distinguendus Förster, was examined in the laboratory to test the impact of transgenicmaize on stored-product pests and their biological control. RESULTS: Weevils were not harmfully affected by transgenic Bt maize in their development characteristics (development time, body mass), and females emerging from transgenicmaize kernels were larger. However, significantly fewer parasitoid females emerged from weevils that developed in transgenic kernels, although parasitoids did not develop more slowly and were not different in size ormass from their conspecifics emerging from hosts in non-transgenicmaize kernels. CONCLUSION: The emergence of female parasitoids was reduced in transgenic Bt maize, and this effect cannot be explained by the known lepidopteran-specific toxicity of Bt Cry1Ab toxin.
Keywords
Bt maize, stored-product pests, biological control, transgenic maize, biosafety, tritrophic interactions
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