Insect resistance to Bt crops: lessons from the first billion acres

Tabashnik, B.E. and Brévault , T. and Brévault, Y. (2013) Insect resistance to Bt crops: lessons from the first billion acres. Nature Biotechnology, 31. pp. 510-521.

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Abstract

Evolution of resistance in pests can reduce the effectiveness of insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produced by transgenic crops. We analyzed results of 77 studies from five continents reporting field monitoring data for resistance to Bt crops, empirical evaluation of factors affecting resistance or both. Although most pest populations remained susceptible, reduced efficacy of Bt crops caused by field-evolved resistance has been reported now for some populations of 5 of 13 major pest species examined, compared with resistant populations of only one pest species in 2005. Field outcomes support theoretical predictions that factors delaying resistance include recessive inheritance of resistance, low initial frequency of resistance alleles, abundant refuges of non-Bt host plants and two-toxin Bt crops deployed separately from one-toxin Bt crops. The results imply that proactive evaluation of the inheritance and initial frequency of resistance are useful for predicting the risk of resistance and improving strategies to sustain the effectiveness of Bt crops.

Item Type: Article
Author Affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Subjects: Plant Protection
Crop Improvement
Divisions: General
Depositing User: Mr. SanatKumar Behera
Date Deposited: 12 Jun 2013 07:39
Last Modified: 12 Jun 2013 07:39
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2597
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/10729

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