Scientists Conduct Developmental Studies of Bt Maize Effects on African Stem Borer
African stem borer (Busseola fusca) is a major pest of maize causing holes and windows in the leaves, stems, and cobs. This pest is difficult to control using chemical insecticides, thus Derick George of Newcastle University, UK, and colleagues investigated if transgenic maize expressing Cry1Ab could be an alternative strategy to control the pest.
Results showed that recombinant Cry1Ab decreased the larval weight by 60%, while larval weight of the control increased by 25%. No effects in the mortality were observed. Insect survival, developmental rate, and pupal and adult weight were significantly reduced on maize expressing Cry1Ab (MON810) compared to the non-transgenic parental line. These differences were observed to be more evident in the second-instar larvae than in the third-instar larvae. Larvae fed with Bt maize consumed less leaf than the control-fed larvae. Further analysis showed that Bt maize had damaging effects on the cellular structures in the midgut epithelium. Therefore, Bt maize can be used to control the African stem borer.
The research article is available for Pest Management Science subscribers at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ps.2260/abstract.
This article is part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
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