Journal or Publishing Institution: Journal of Botany
Study: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jb/2012/389247/
Author(s): Letourneau, D.K., and Hagen, J.A.
Article Type: Peer Reviewed Study
Record ID: 1403
Abstract: When field tests of transgenic plants are precluded by practical containment concerns, manipulative experiments can detect potential consequences of crop-wild gene flow. Using topical sprays of bacterial Bacillus thuringiensislarvicide (Bt) and larval additions, we measured fitness effects of reduced herbivory on Brassica rapa (wild mustard) and Raphanus sativus (wild radish). These species represent different life histories among the potential recipients of Bt transgenes from Bt cole crops in the US and Asia, for which rare spontaneous crosses are expected under high exposure. Protected wild radish and wild mustard seedlings had approximately half the herbivore damage of exposed plants and 55% lower seedling mortality, resulting in 27% greater reproductive success, 14-day longer life-spans, and 118% more seeds, on average. Seed addition experiments in microcosms and in situ indicated that wild radish was more likely to spread than wild mustard in coastal grasslands.
Keywords: Arthropods, Bacillus thuringiensis, Brassica campestris, Brassicales, Insects, Lepidoptera, Plants; Arthropod Pests, Crosses, Crossing, Gene Flow, Genetically Engineered Organisms, Hybrids, Insect Pests, Insecticides, Pest Resistance, Pests, Plant Pests, Seedlings, Transgenic Plants, Wild Relatives; Bacterium, Capparales, Genetically Engineered Plants, Genetically Modified Organisms, Genetically Modified Plants, GEOs, GMOs, Pest Arthropods, Pest Insects, Transgenic Organisms; Brassica rapa, Plant Fitness, Herbivory, Bt crops, Genetically Modified Crops, Risk Assessment; Animals, Bacillus Thuringiensis, Bacterial Proteins, Agricultural Crops, Genetic Crosses, Feeding Behavior, Gene Flow, Insecta, Genetically Modified Plants, Seeds, Transgenes; Genetics, Growth & Development, Physiology; Raphanus sativus, Cole Crops, Grasslands, Herbivores, Larvae, Larvicides, Life History, Mortality, Radishes, Reproductive Success, Wild Relatives, Asia, United States; Seed Physiology, Experimental Agriculture, Grasslands
Citation: Letourneau, D.K., and Hagen, J.A., 2012. Plant fitness assessment for wild relatives of insect resistant Bt- crops. Journal of Botany, ID 389247.
