Side effect of transgenic plants

1
Side effect of transgenic plants

•  Biology Centre, ASCR, v.v.i.  Institute of
  Entomology
• Department of Experimental Ecology
• Oxana Habutová

2
Conducted research

• Monitoring of selected insect taxa and spiders on
  ten 0.5-ha plots in a 14-ha field in 2002-2005.
  Maize MON810 expressing Cry1Ab was compared with
  a parental, non-transgenic cultivar. Ten plants
  and five pitfall traps per plot were examined in
  2-week intervals.

3
Field trials
4
Average temperatures
5
Precipitation profile
6
Quantification of Cry toxin
7
Content of Cry1Ab/c (µg/g) in MON810 in 2003-2005
(no toxin was detected in the control maize)
8
Numbers of dominating insects per ten plants in
2003-2005
9
Abundance of sucking insects in relation to Bt
expression, date and year
10
Dominant carabid species
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Dominant spider species
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Abundance of epigeic arthropods on Cry1Ab (Bt),
data, year, and plot position
13
Conclusions

• Maize MON810 contains gt 1 ppm Cry1Ab in the stem
  and folliage but undetectable amounts in the
  flowers and grain.
• It is not attacked by the European corn borer.
• None of the other herbivores living on the maize
  plants and none of their predators were affected.
• The compositions of epigeic beetles and spiders
  was not altered due to Cry presence.

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Recent experiment

• Will performed in the corner of 60ha field
• 14 ha will divided into 25 plots of 0.5ha each
• MON 88017, isogenic, treated with insecticides,
  reference cultivar A and B will be sowed
• Weather condition
• Precipitation profile
• Plant dwelling insect
• Soil insects by pitfall traps
• Entomopathogenic nematodes
• Yellow sticky traps with pheromone Csalomon PAL
  for Diabrotica virgifera
• Yellow sticky traps for natural enemies
• Content of Cry3Bb1 toxin

15
Design of experimental field in 2009-2011
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Thank you for your attention!