Transgenic Cry1Ac cotton does not affect the development and fecundity of Chrysoperla carnea
April
Transgenic Cry1Ac cotton does not affect the development and fecundity of Chrysoperla carnea
Ruifeng Ding 0 1
Deying MaID 0 1
Ahtam Uwais 1
Dongmei Wang 1
Jian Liu 1
Yao Xu 1
Haobin Li 1
Haiqiang Li 1
Hongsheng Pan 1
0 College of Agronomy, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of the Pest Monitoring and Safety Control of Crops and Forests of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region , Urumqi, Xinjiang PR China , 2 Institute of Plant Protection, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Integrated Crop Pest Management in Northwestern Oasis, Ministry of Agriculture, Scientific Observation and Experimental Station for Crop Pests in Korla, Ministry of Agriculture , Urumqi, Xinjiang PR China
1 Editor: Maohua Chen, Northwest A&F University , CHINA
The development and fecundity of the predator Chrysoperla carnea Stephens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) were assessed by feeding Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) that had been reared on transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton SGK321 and a non-Bt cotton control (SY321) for two successive generations. We found no significant differences in the developmental stage duration, stage survival, or egg hatch rate between C. carnea fed A. gossypii reared on the Bt and non-Bt cotton. The fecundity per female over a 25-day observation period was very similar between treatments; for C. carnea fed A. gossypii reared on SGK321 vs. SY321, the amount of eggs laid was not significantly different in both generations. Furthermore, a population dynamics of A. gossypii and lacewing (mainly C. carnea) were highly similar in the SGK321 and SY321 treatments during 2016-2017. These results suggest that Bt cotton does not have a significantly negative or positive effect on C. carnea in terms of development, survival, fecundity, or population dynamics.
-
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the manuscript.
Funding: This study was supported by the Key
Projects of Breeding Genetically Modified
Organisms of China(2016zx08012-004) and
National Key R&D Program of China
(2017YFD201900). The funders had no role in the
study design, data collection and analysis, decision
to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
Introduction
Transgenic cotton producing insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) plays a significant role in insect pest management around the world. Bt cotton not only
successfully controls several insect pests of cotton [e.g., Helicoverpa armigera (Hu?bner)
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] but also reduces pesticide use in other crops that previously required
protection against target pests, thereby boosting crop yields and generating more income for
farmers [
1?3
]. In China, Bt cotton has been used to control cotton bollworm since 1997, and it
has already been adopted by 95% of farmers in northern China, where it plays a prominent
role in pest control in cotton fields [
4
]. Transgenic Bt cotton has contributed substantially to
the reduction of damage by cotton bollworm. Because of its widespread use, efforts to evaluate
its safety have received a great deal of attention worldwide, and its potential for harmful effects
on non-target species, especially natural predators [
5
], has been assessed. Widespread planting
of Bt cotton has the potential to change the arthropod community in cotton [
6
], thus affecting
populations of sucking pests, such as cotton aphids [
7?8
], mirid bugs [9], and others.
Cotton aphid Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is an important sucking pest of cotton
worldwide that can affect cotton plants both by its direct feeding and through its ability to
transmit diseases [
10
]. Predators in cotton fields, such as lacewings, ladybeetles are very
important natural enemies in cotton fields, and can control the aphids effectively[
11?12
].
Lacewings (Chrysopidae) are important predators in cotton fields due to their high preda
tion rates and ecological plasticity. Some widespread species are common in crop fields
worldwide, including in China [13]. Chrysoperla carnea Stephens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) is an
important natural predator that can be reared in the laboratory and used for pest control in
the field [14]. This species preys on various pests in natural and cultivated fields, such as
aphids, cotton bollworms, whiteflies, and the eggs and young larvae of Lepidoptera [15?19].
Green lacewings have also been used to assess the potential non-target effects of insecticides [20?21], fungicides [22], and GE plants [23?29] on the third trophic level in agricultural ecosystems. Overall, lacewings play an important role in biological control and integrated pest management in cotton fields.
The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XJR) is the largest commercial cotton
production region in China. The area of cotton cultivation in the region has expanded in recent years,
reaching 2.15 mil (...truncated)