Bt maize genotypes do not harm Trichogramma pretiosum when exposed to vegetative and reproductive structures

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the effects of Bt maize genotypes expressing different Bt proteins on Trichogramma pretiosum. The laboratory bioassays consisted of exposing T. pretiosum to leaf, stem, and pollen of Bt maize genotypes and isogenic lines. The reduction on parasitism was used to classify the treatments according to the IOBC scale. In all bioassays, the reduction on parasitism was lower than 30%, and the Bt maize were harmless to T. pretiosum. The laboratorial method used proved to be reliable to verify harmlessness of Bt maize genotypes expressing different proteins on T. pretiosum.

KEYWORDS:

• Bacillus thuringiensis
• biological control
• egg parasitoid
• transgenic
• Zea mays

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID

Daniel Spagnol http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4894-5754

Rodolfo Vargas Castilhos http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0521-5727

Rafael Antonio Pasini http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1223-9302

Anderson Dionei Grützmacher http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5464-9337

Ana Paula Schneid Afonso da Rosa http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4146-0612

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).