The application of recombinant DNA technology has resulted in many insect-resistant varieties by genetic engineering （GE）. Crops expressing Cry toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） have been planted wor...The application of recombinant DNA technology has resulted in many insect-resistant varieties by genetic engineering （GE）. Crops expressing Cry toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） have been planted worldwide, and are an effective tool for pest control. However, one ecological concern regarding the potential effects of insect-resistant GE plants on non-target organisms （NTOs） has been continually debated. In the present study, we briefly summarize the data regarding the development and commercial use of transgenic Bt varieties, elaborate on the procedure and methods for assessing the non-target effects of insect-resistant GE plants, and synthetically analyze the related research results, mostly those published between 2005 and 2010. A mass of laboratory and field studies have shown that the currently available Bt crops have no direct detrimental effects on NTOs due to their narrow spectrum of activity, and Bt crops are increasing the abundance of some beneficial insects and improving the natural control of specific pests. The use of Bt crops, such as Bt maize and Bt cotton, results in significant reductions of insecticide application and clear benefits on the environment and farmer health. Consequently, Bt crops can be a useful component of integrated pest management systems to protect the crop from targeted pests.展开更多
The area sown to Bt cotton has expanded rapidly in China since 1997. It has effectively controlled the bollworm. However, in recent years, concern has surfaced about the emergence of secondary insect pests, particular...The area sown to Bt cotton has expanded rapidly in China since 1997. It has effectively controlled the bollworm. However, in recent years, concern has surfaced about the emergence of secondary insect pests, particular mirids, in Bt cotton fields. This study measures the patterns of insecticide use based on farm-level from 1999 to 2006, the analysis demonstrates a rise in insecticide use to control mirids between 2001 and 2004, secondary insect infestations is largely related to the rise of mirids, but this rising did not continue in more than half of sample villages studied in 2004-2006. Moreover, the increase in insecticide use for the control of secondary insects is far smaller than the reduction in total insecticide use due to Bt cotton adoption. Further econometric analyses show that rise and fall of mirids is largely related to local temperature and rainfall.展开更多
With the development of transgenic crops, there is an increasing concern about the possible adverse effects of their vegetation and residues on soil environmental quality. This study was carried out to evaluate the po...With the development of transgenic crops, there is an increasing concern about the possible adverse effects of their vegetation and residues on soil environmental quality. This study was carried out to evaluate the possible effects of the vegetation of transgenic Bt rice lines Huachi B6 （HC） and TT51 （TT） followed by the return of their straw to the soil on soil enzymes （catalase, urease, neutral phosphatase and invertase）, anaerobic respiration activity, microbial utilization of carbon substrates and community structure, under field conditions. The results indicated that the vegetation of the two transgenic rice lines （HC and TT） and return of their straw had few adverse effects on soil enzymes and anaerobic respiration activity compared to their parent and distant parent, although some transient differences were observed. The vegetation and subsequent straw amendment of Bt rice HC and TT did not appear to have a harmful effect on the richness, evenness and community structure of soil microorganisms. No different pattern of impact due to plant species was found between HC and TT. It could be concluded that the vegetation of transgenic Bt rice lines and the return of their straw as organic fertilizer may not alter soil microbe-mediated functions.展开更多
Cadherins belong to one of the families of animal glycoproteins responsible for cal-cium-dependent cell-cell adhesion.Recent literatures showed that the cadherin-like in midgut of several insects served as the recepto...Cadherins belong to one of the families of animal glycoproteins responsible for cal-cium-dependent cell-cell adhesion.Recent literatures showed that the cadherin-like in midgut of several insects served as the receptor of Bt toxin Cry1A and the variation of cadherin-like is re-lated to insect’s resistance to Cry1A.The full-length cDNA encoding cadherin-like of Helicoverpa armigera is cloned by degenerate PCR and RACE techniques and the gene was designated as BtR-harm,which is 5581 bp in full-length,encoding 1730 amino acid residues(BtR-harm was deposited in GenBank and the accession number is AF519180).Its predicted molecular weight and isoelectric point were 195.39 kDa and 4.23,respectively.The inferred amino acid sequence includes a signal sequence,11 cadherin repeats,a membrane-proximal region,a transmem-brane region and a cytoplasmic region.Sequence analysis indicated that the deduced protein sequence was most similar to the cadherin-like from Heliothis virescens with 84.2%identity and highly similar to three other lepidopteran cadherin from Bombyx mori,Manduca sexta and Pectinophora gossypiella,with the sequence identities of 60.3.6%,57.5%and 51.0%,respec-tively.The cDNA encoding cadherin gene was expressed successfully in E.coli and the recom-binant proteins can bind with Cry1Ac.Truncation analysis and binding experiment of BtR-harm revealed that the Cry1A binding region was a contiguous 244-amino acid sequence,which lo-cated between amino acid 1217 and 1461.Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that BtR-harm was highly expressed in midgut of H.armigera,very low expressed in foregut and hindgut and was not expressed in other tissues.After H.armigera producing resistance to Cry1Ac,the expression quantity of BtR-harm significantly decreased in midgut of H.armigera.It is the first confirmation that BtR-harm can function as receptor of Cry1Ac in H.armigera and the binding region was located on a contiguous 244 amino acid sequence,suggesting that the de-crease of expression quantity of BtR-harm is one of th展开更多
文摘The application of recombinant DNA technology has resulted in many insect-resistant varieties by genetic engineering （GE）. Crops expressing Cry toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） have been planted worldwide, and are an effective tool for pest control. However, one ecological concern regarding the potential effects of insect-resistant GE plants on non-target organisms （NTOs） has been continually debated. In the present study, we briefly summarize the data regarding the development and commercial use of transgenic Bt varieties, elaborate on the procedure and methods for assessing the non-target effects of insect-resistant GE plants, and synthetically analyze the related research results, mostly those published between 2005 and 2010. A mass of laboratory and field studies have shown that the currently available Bt crops have no direct detrimental effects on NTOs due to their narrow spectrum of activity, and Bt crops are increasing the abundance of some beneficial insects and improving the natural control of specific pests. The use of Bt crops, such as Bt maize and Bt cotton, results in significant reductions of insecticide application and clear benefits on the environment and farmer health. Consequently, Bt crops can be a useful component of integrated pest management systems to protect the crop from targeted pests.
基金support by the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KSCX2-YW-N-039) and International Development Research Center,China
文摘The area sown to Bt cotton has expanded rapidly in China since 1997. It has effectively controlled the bollworm. However, in recent years, concern has surfaced about the emergence of secondary insect pests, particular mirids, in Bt cotton fields. This study measures the patterns of insecticide use based on farm-level from 1999 to 2006, the analysis demonstrates a rise in insecticide use to control mirids between 2001 and 2004, secondary insect infestations is largely related to the rise of mirids, but this rising did not continue in more than half of sample villages studied in 2004-2006. Moreover, the increase in insecticide use for the control of secondary insects is far smaller than the reduction in total insecticide use due to Bt cotton adoption. Further econometric analyses show that rise and fall of mirids is largely related to local temperature and rainfall.
基金supported by the Genetically Modified Organisms Breeding Major Projects (No. 2009ZX08011-014B, 2009ZX08011-008B)the Major State Basic Research Development Programme of China (No.2009CB119006)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20877068, 30771254)
文摘With the development of transgenic crops, there is an increasing concern about the possible adverse effects of their vegetation and residues on soil environmental quality. This study was carried out to evaluate the possible effects of the vegetation of transgenic Bt rice lines Huachi B6 （HC） and TT51 （TT） followed by the return of their straw to the soil on soil enzymes （catalase, urease, neutral phosphatase and invertase）, anaerobic respiration activity, microbial utilization of carbon substrates and community structure, under field conditions. The results indicated that the vegetation of the two transgenic rice lines （HC and TT） and return of their straw had few adverse effects on soil enzymes and anaerobic respiration activity compared to their parent and distant parent, although some transient differences were observed. The vegetation and subsequent straw amendment of Bt rice HC and TT did not appear to have a harmful effect on the richness, evenness and community structure of soil microorganisms. No different pattern of impact due to plant species was found between HC and TT. It could be concluded that the vegetation of transgenic Bt rice lines and the return of their straw as organic fertilizer may not alter soil microbe-mediated functions.
基金This work was supported by the Nati onal Natual Science F oundation of China(Grant No.30300233)Chinese Ministry of ScienceTechnology(Grant Nos.G2000016208&2001AA212271)
文摘Cadherins belong to one of the families of animal glycoproteins responsible for cal-cium-dependent cell-cell adhesion.Recent literatures showed that the cadherin-like in midgut of several insects served as the receptor of Bt toxin Cry1A and the variation of cadherin-like is re-lated to insect’s resistance to Cry1A.The full-length cDNA encoding cadherin-like of Helicoverpa armigera is cloned by degenerate PCR and RACE techniques and the gene was designated as BtR-harm,which is 5581 bp in full-length,encoding 1730 amino acid residues(BtR-harm was deposited in GenBank and the accession number is AF519180).Its predicted molecular weight and isoelectric point were 195.39 kDa and 4.23,respectively.The inferred amino acid sequence includes a signal sequence,11 cadherin repeats,a membrane-proximal region,a transmem-brane region and a cytoplasmic region.Sequence analysis indicated that the deduced protein sequence was most similar to the cadherin-like from Heliothis virescens with 84.2%identity and highly similar to three other lepidopteran cadherin from Bombyx mori,Manduca sexta and Pectinophora gossypiella,with the sequence identities of 60.3.6%,57.5%and 51.0%,respec-tively.The cDNA encoding cadherin gene was expressed successfully in E.coli and the recom-binant proteins can bind with Cry1Ac.Truncation analysis and binding experiment of BtR-harm revealed that the Cry1A binding region was a contiguous 244-amino acid sequence,which lo-cated between amino acid 1217 and 1461.Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that BtR-harm was highly expressed in midgut of H.armigera,very low expressed in foregut and hindgut and was not expressed in other tissues.After H.armigera producing resistance to Cry1Ac,the expression quantity of BtR-harm significantly decreased in midgut of H.armigera.It is the first confirmation that BtR-harm can function as receptor of Cry1Ac in H.armigera and the binding region was located on a contiguous 244 amino acid sequence,suggesting that the de-crease of expression quantity of BtR-harm is one of th
