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Laboratory assessment of the impacts of transgenic Bt rice on the ecological fitness of the soil non-target arthropod, Folsomia candida (Collembola: Isotomidae)

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Abstract

Transgenic rice expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins (Bt rice) for pest control is considered an important solution to food security in China. However, tests for potential effects on non-target soil organisms are required for environmental risk assessment. The soil collembolan Folsomia candida L. (Collembola: Isotomidae) is a potential non-target arthropod that is often used as a biological indicator in bio-safety assessments of transgenic crops. In the present study, the roots, stems, and leaves of Bt rice were exposed to F. candida under laboratory conditions, with survival, reproduction and growth of the collembolan as ecological fitness parameters. Significant differences in ecological fitness were found among the different treatments, including differences in the plant parts and varieties of non-Bt rice, presumably as the result of three factors: gene modification, plant parts and rice varieties. The fitness of F. candida was less affected by the different diets than by the exposure to the same materials mixed with soil. Our results clearly showed that there was no negative effect of different Bt rice varieties on the fitness of F. candida through either diet or soil exposure.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Special Program for New Transgenic Variety Breeding of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (No. 2012ZX08011002) and the Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Science(KSCX2-EW-Z-6). Paul Henning Krogh was supported by grant no 3304-FVFP-09-B-004 from The Danish Food Industry Agency programme “Future crops—application of biotechnology with special focus on genetically engineering for the benefit of the whole society”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Yiyang Yuan & Feng Ge

  2. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, No. 8 Dayangfang Anwai, Chaoyang, Beijing, 100012, People’s Republic of China

    Nengwen Xiao

  3. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsoevej 25, P.O. Box 314, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark

    Paul Henning Krogh

  4. Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Fajun Chen

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  1. Yiyang Yuan
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Yuan, Y., Xiao, N., Krogh, P.H. et al. Laboratory assessment of the impacts of transgenic Bt rice on the ecological fitness of the soil non-target arthropod, Folsomia candida (Collembola: Isotomidae). Transgenic Res 22, 791–803 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-013-9687-6

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