Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin released from root exudates and biomass of Bt corn has no apparent effect on earthworms, nematodes, protozoa, bacteria, and fungi in soil

Saxena, Deepak; Stotzky, G.

doi:10.1016/s0038-0717(01)00027-x

Cited by 342 publications

(296 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Also, growth of juvenile A. caliginosa was unaffected when worms were kept in pots with a growing Bt-maize plant. The study confirmed the findings of earlier studies performed with other earthworm species [88,94]. Bt-maize apparently poses minimal risks to earthworms as far as growth and reproduction is concerned.…”

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Both studies showed no consistent effects on L. terrestris. No significant difference in mortality and in weight of earthworms was found after 40 days in soil planted with Bt-or non-Bt-maize, or after 45 days in soil amended with the biomass of either Bt-or non-Bt-maize [88]. Laboratory experiments with adult earthworms feeding on Bt-and non-Bt-maize litter showed no significant difference in relative weight between the two treatments during the first 160 days of the experiment [94].…”

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Effects of Cry1Ab toxins on nematodes were examined in three studies using soil samples from fields planted with Bt-maize and non-Bt isolines [86][87][88]. The differences caused by the cultivation of Bt-maize were not as large as those resulting from cultivating different conventional maize cultivars, different crop plants, or as large as the differences between sites or sampling dates.…”

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effects of Bt-maize expressing Cry1Ab on the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris have been studied in the laboratory and under semi-field conditions in two studies [88,94]. Both studies showed no consistent effects on L. terrestris.…”

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Ecological Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops: Ten Years of Field Research and Commercial Cultivation

Sanvido

Romeis

Bigler

Green Gene Technology

110

102

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Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effects Of Bt-crops On Soil Macroorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ecological Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops: Ten Years of Field Research and Commercial Cultivation

Sanvido

Romeis

Bigler

Green Gene Technology

110

102

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“…Many ingest soil and organic matter during feeding, or derive their nutrition from microbes associated with the breakdown of crop residues and in this way may be exposed to transgene-derived proteins. Earthworms such as Lumbricus terrestris L. (Annelida: Lumbricidae), L. rubellus (Hoffmeister) and Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny) have been used in several studies on non-target effects of GM plants including corn expressing Cry3Bb1 (Ahmad et al, 2006) and Cry1Ab (Saxena and Stotzky, 2001a;Vercesi et al, 2006;Zwahlen et al, 2003). Eisenia spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of tobacco genetically modified to express protease inhibitor bovine spleen trypsin inhibitor on non-target soil organisms

O’Callaghan

Brownbridge

Stilwell

et al. 2007

Environ. Biosafety Res.

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Effects of tobacco genetically modified to express the protease inhibitor bovine spleen trypsin inhibitor (BSTI) were examined in laboratory assays against three earthworm and one collembolan species. BSTI is a serine protease inhibitor that can bind to the digestive trypsins of insects feeding on modified plants, resulting in reduced growth and survival. Protease inhibitors are active against a broad range of insects, so may have a large impact on non-target organisms. Survival and fecundity of the collembolan Folsomia candida were unaffected by consumption of artificial diet containing BSTI-expressing tobacco leaf or powdered freeze-dried BSTI-expressing tobacco leaf that was added to soil. Similarly, mortality and growth of earthworms Aporrectodea caliginosa and Lumbricus rubellus did not differ significantly between soil augmented with BSTI-expressing tobacco leaves or unmodified control leaves. The redworm Eisenia fetida gained less weight when provided with BSTI-expressing leaves in one assay, but when the experiment was repeated, there was no significant difference between treatments. BSTI-expressing tobacco and unmodified control leaves decomposed at the same rate, indicating that the inhibitor had no effect on the overall function of the decomposer community of micro-flora and fauna in soil.

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Engineering Resistance to Insect Pests

Ferry

Edwards

Mulligan

et al. 2004

Handbook of Plant Biotechnology

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With a projected increase in world population to 10 billion over the next four decades, an immediate priority for agriculture is to achieve maximum production of food and other products in a manner which is environmentally sustainable and cost effective. Despite the synthesis of improved pesticides, and integrated pest management strategies, yield losses due to insects have actually increased slightly for most crops over the last two decades. The concept of utilising a transgenic approach to host plant resistance was realised in the mid 1990s with the commercial introduction of genetically modified crops expressing genes encoding the entomocidal d‐endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ). More recently this strategy has been extended to include the pyramiding (stacking) of genes encoding different Bt toxins for greater levels of pest control. Although not as yet a commercial reality, other strategies based on the use of plant derived genes (enzyme inhibitors, lectins) and those from animal sources, including insects (biotin‐binding proteins, neurohormones, enzyme inhibitors), are being developed. The use of fusion proteins to increase the spectrum and durability of resistance is also actively being pursued. However, if transgenic insect‐resistant crops are to play a useful role in crop protection, it is apparent that they must be compatible with the other components of integrated pest management (IPM). The current chapter addresses the role of insect‐resistant transgenic crops in agriculture and discusses both their current status and future developments. Given the importance of natural enemies in controlling pest populations, the potential impact of such crops on predators and parasitoids is also addressed.

show abstract

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin released from root exudates and biomass of Bt corn has no apparent effect on earthworms, nematodes, protozoa, bacteria, and fungi in soil

Cited by 342 publications

References 37 publications

Ecological Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops: Ten Years of Field Research and Commercial Cultivation

Ecological Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops: Ten Years of Field Research and Commercial Cultivation

Effects of tobacco genetically modified to express protease inhibitor bovine spleen trypsin inhibitor on non-target soil organisms

Engineering Resistance to Insect Pests

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