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Analysis of Cry1Ab toxin bioaccumulation in a food chain of Bt rice, an herbivore and a predator

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Abstract

Lessons from organophosphorus pesticides, which could be bioaccumulated in non-target organisms at different trophic levels and caused unexpected negative impacts, necessitate a study of the possibility of biotransfer and bioaccumulation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal toxin(s) expressed in Bt plants. Using ELISA, we evaluated the transfer of Cry1Ab toxin in a food chain of Bt rice (KMD1 and KMD2), the target insect, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, and its predator, Pirata subpiraticus. Cry1Ab was detected in C. medinalis and P. subpiraticus. However, the concentration of Cry1Ab detected from C. medinalis and P. subpiraticus did not increase as feeding or preying time increased. A binding study of Cry1Ab to the brush border membrane vesicle of C. medinalis and P. subpiraticus indicated that P. subpiraticus does not have binding receptors in its midgut to Cry1Ab, while C. medinalis does. Survivorship and fecundity of P. subpiraticus preying on Bt rice-fed C. medinalis were not significantly different from those preying on non-Bt rice-fed C. medinalis. Developmental time of P. subpiraticus was significantly longer when it preyed on Bt rice-fed C. medinalis than on non-Bt rice-fed prey. However, a 3-year field trial indicated that Bt rice did not significantly affect the density of P. subpiraticus.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. I. Altosaar (University of Ottawa) for providing activated Cry1Ab toxin and Dr. D. B. Zhang (College of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China) for providing the monoclonal antibody of Cry1Ab. Financial supports from the National Program on Key Basic Research Projects (973 Program, 2007CB109202), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (39970507) and the Special Foundation for the Winner of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation, the Ministry of Education of China (199944) are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Mao Chen & Anthony M. Shelton

    Present address: Department of Entomology, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY, 14456, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Mao Chen, Gong-yin Ye, Qi Fang & Cui Hu

  2. College of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Zhi-cheng Liu

  3. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100094, China

    Yu-fa Peng

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  1. Mao Chen
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Correspondence to Gong-yin Ye.

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Chen, M., Ye, Gy., Liu, Zc. et al. Analysis of Cry1Ab toxin bioaccumulation in a food chain of Bt rice, an herbivore and a predator. Ecotoxicology 18, 230–238 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-008-0276-z

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