Effects of transgenic cabbage expressing Cry1Ac1 protein on target pests and the non-target arthropod community under field conditions

•Transgenic cabbage expressing Cry1Ac1 were developed to control lepidopteran pests.•Transgenic cabbage reduced the abundance of Plutella xylostella and Pieris rapae.•Transgenic cabbage did not alter non-target arthropod community structure.

Under field conditions, we investigated how transgenic Bt cabbage expressing the insecticidal Cry1Ac1 protein affects two target Lepidoptera species—Plutella xylostella (Plutellidae) and Pieris rapae (Pieridae)—as well as the structure of the local non-target arthropod community. When exposed to Bt cabbage Line C30, both species were significantly less abundant than when in the presence of the non-transgenic control. Transgenic line C24 had no apparent influence on those target populations. Multivariate analyses (PerMANOVA and NMDS) showed that composition of the non-target community was affected by sampling date but not by cabbage genotype. These results suggest that transgenic cabbage expressing Cry1Ac1 protein can be effective in controlling P. xylostella and P. rapae in the field and that its cultivation does not adversely affect non-target arthropods.

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