GMO Research
Abstract: Transgenic Cry1Ac + CpTI cotton (CCRI41) is increasingly planted throughout China. However, negative effects of this cultivar on the honey bee Apis mellifera L., the most important pollinator for cultivated ecosystem, remained poorly investigated. The objective of our study was to evaluate the potential side effects of transgenic Cry1Ac + CpTI pollen from cotton …
Abstract: Genetically modified Bt crops are increasingly used worldwide but side effects and especially sublethal effects on beneficial insects remain poorly studied. Honey bees are beneficial insects for natural and cultivated ecosystems through pollination. The goal of the present study was to assess potential effects of two concentrations of Cry1Ab protein (3 and 5000 ppb) …
Abstract: While the natural foods of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) contain diverse phytochemicals, in contemporary agroecosystems honey bees also encounter pesticides as floral tissue contaminants. Whereas some ubiquitous phytochemicals in bee foods up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes, thereby benefiting nestmates, many agrochemical pesticides adversely affect bee health even at sublethal levels. How honey …
Abstract: Background Pesticidal RNAs that silence critical gene function have great potential in pest management, but the benefits of this technology must be weighed against non-target organism risks. Methods Published studies that developed pesticidal double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) were collated into a database. The target gene sequences for these pesticidal RNAs were determined, and the …
Abstract: The decline in the population of pollinators is a worrying phenomenon worldwide. In North America, the extensive use of herbicides in maize and soya crops may affect the health of nontarget organisms like the honey bee. In this study, caged honey bees were exposed to realistic doses of atrazine, metolachlor, and glyphosate for 10 …
Abstract: Pollination is one of the essential ecological services for the maintenance of natural and agrarian environments. Among the pollinators, bees represent a diverse group that plays a fundamental role in this process. The decline of bee populations has been reported, with the intensive use of pesticides being pointed as one of the main factors …
Abstract: The world food supply and economy are directly dependent upon the pollination of crops and plants by honeybees. Due to the recently discovered condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder, the world honeybee population has declined significantly since 2006 (Kaplan 2008). It is estimated that one-third of all food in the human diet is dependent …
Abstract: Background, aim, and scope: Basically, technological innovations are associated with benefits and risks. This is also true for the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMO) into agriculture. In Germany, precautionary regulations currently demand isolation distances (i. e. buffer zones) for the cultivation of genetically modified maize (Bt-maize) in the vicinity of conventional (150 m) and organic …
Abstract: The effects of the management of genetically modified herbicide–tolerant (GMHT) crops on the abundances of aerial and epigeal arthropods were assessed in 66 beet, 68 maize and 67 spring oilseed rape sites as part of the Farm Scale Evaluations of GMHT crops. Most higher taxa were insensitive to differences between GMHT and conventional weed …
Abstract: Rice is one of the most important crops in the world. Several transgenic varieties of rice have been developed, and some have recently entered pre‐production trials. One concern with genetically modified (GM) crops is transgene escape, but prior studies suggest this risk is low for rice because it is self‐pollinated and the dispersal of pollen …
Abstract: Using precise pollen species determination by conventional microscopic methods, accompanied by molecular genetic markers, we found bees collect GMO (genetically modified) soybean pollen and incorporate it in Yucatan honey. Honey comb samples from Las Flores, Campeche, Mexico, often contained soybean pollen. Pollen in honey was analyzed in nine samples; six contained substantial soy pollen …
Abstract: Effects of glyphosate on survival, developmental rate, larval weight, and midgut bacterial diversity of Apis mellifera were tested in the laboratory. Larvae were reared in vitro and fed diet containing glyphosate 0.8, 4, and 20 mg/L. The dependent variables were compared with negative control and positive control (dimethoate 45 mg/L). Brood survival decreased in 4 …
Abstract: This review evaluates scientific studies published in peer-review journals during the last 3-4 years that considered ecological effects of insect resistant (Bt) and herbicide tolerant maize. The majority of the scientific studies deal with ecological effects of maize containing the Cry1Ab toxin. In contrast, very few studies are available that considered other Cry toxins …
Text: Maize or cotton pollen from Bt transgenic plants has been shown not to harm Coleopterans (ladybirds) and Hymenopterans(honeybees and bumblebees), even when they are exposed to large amounts of the anti-lepidopteran Bt maize or cotton pollen (Malone and Pham-Dèlègue, 2001; Hanley et al., 2003). Hanley et. al. (2003) suggested that the Bt pollen could …
Abstract: The ecological impacts of agriculture are of concern, especially with genetically modified and other intensive, modern cropping systems, yet little is known about effects on wild bee populations and subsequent implications for pollination. Pollination deficit (the difference between potential and actual pollination) and bee abundance were measured in organic, conventional, and herbicide‐resistant, genetically modified …
Abstract: Glyphosate (GLY) is a broad-spectrum herbicide used for weed control. The sub-lethal impact of GLY on non-target organisms such as insect pollinators has not yet been evaluated. Apis mellifera is the main pollinator in agricultural environments and is a well-known model for behavioural research. Honeybees are also accurate biosensors of environmental pollutants and their …
