Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2841218 | Journal of Insect Physiology | 2009 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
We investigated the effects of a Bt maize hybrid on fitness and digestive physiology of the ground-dwelling predator Poecilus cupreus L., as compared with the near-isogenic hybrid. A tritrophic assay revealed that there was a great decline in the detection of Cry1Ab toxin through the trophic chain, the concentration of the toxin being 945, 349 and 37 ng gâ1 of fresh weight in Bt maize leaves, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) larvae and P. cupreus larvae, respectively. Moreover, the toxin was only detected in 8% of the P. cupreus adults collected from fields growing Bt maize. Developmental time of both larvae and pupae of P. cupreus was not adversely affected by the Cry1Ab toxin via fed-prey. To elucidate potential detrimental effects due to a reduction in the quality of the prey, we assessed the digestive proteolytic activities of P. cupreus adults from a laboratory culture and insects collected in commercial Bt and non-Bt maize fields. Field-collected P. cupreus adults had higher proteolytic activities than those reared in the laboratory, whereas no significant differences were found between P. cupreus adults reared on Bt and non-Bt maize fed-S. littoralis or between P. cupreus adults collected in commercial Bt and non-Bt maize fields.
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Authors
Fernando Álvarez-Alfageme, Félix Ortego, Pedro Castañera,