Impacts of Environmental Factors on Degradation of CrylAb Insecticidal Protein in Leaf-Blade Powders of Transgenic Bt Rice

The determination of the environmental fate of Bt insecticidal protein released by Bt rice plants in paddy soils is a key issue in its ecological risk assessment. In this study, the impacts of soil water content, pH, and temperature on the degradation of CrylAb protein expressed in the leaves of Bt rice KMD2 were studied in the laboratory. Three types of paddy soils were used, i.e., blue clayey paddy soil, pale paddy soil on quaternary red soil, and marine-fluvigenic yellow loamy paddy soil. Ground powders of KMD2 leaf blades were mixed with each type of soil, and degradation dynamics of Cry lAb were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The degradation rate of CrylAb was high at the early experimental stage, but slowed down steadily at middle and later stages, which could be described by exponential equations, with the half-life period of degradation determined as 1.8-4.0 d. The soil water content, pH, and temperature could affect the degradation of CrylAb, but the effects of soil pH and temperature were relatively greater. In general, CrylAb degradations were slower under lower soil pH and temperature conditions, especially for marine-fluvigenic yellow loamy paddy soil.

Risk Assessment and Biosafety Studies of Transgenic Bt Rice （Oryza sativa L.）

Transgenic crops having alien genes from different sources are getting popularity. A Rice （Oryza sativa L.） containing gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium, was assessed to study the potential risks of transgenic plants on environment. The crop was found resistant to target insect pests. Rice variety Basmati-370 transformed with two insecticidal genes, crylAc and cry2A, was grown under field conditions for several years. Data were collected at different stages of the plant growth. Fate of Cry protein in soil, effect of Bt protein on non-target insects, risks of vertical and horizontal gene flow were evaluated. No potential hazard was found at all levels. Bt protein was unstable and degraded significantly in soil within 30 days after harvesting the crop. No harmful effects were found on non-target insects （insects other than order lepidoptera）. Maximum gene flow of 0.02% was observed at close spacing and no evidence of horizontal gene transfer to Rhizobium spp. was found. In conclusion, the transgenic rice plants transformed with Bt genes have no harmful effects on the environment.

Effect of vegetation of transgenic Bt rice lines and their straw amendment on soil enzymes, respiration, functional diversity and community structure of soil microorganisms under field conditions

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.

Modified accumulation of selected heavy metals in Bt transgenic rice

Safety assessment of genetically modified crops generally does not take into account the potential hazard of altered patterns of heavy metal accumulation in plants. A pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions to evaluate the impact of heavy metal amendments on the accumulation of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in a Bt transgenic rice Ke-Ming-Dao （KMD） and its wild-type Xiushui 11 （Xs11）. In control soils, significant difference was only found in contents of Cu （p 〈 0.01） and Pb （p 〈 0.05） in straw between KMD and Xs11. At three levels of Cd amendments （5, 10, and 20 mg/kg）, the Cd contents in grain and straw of KMD were significantly higher than those of Xs11, and all grain Cd contents were significantly higher than the International Criteria （0.2-0.4 mg/kg） as specified by the Codex Alimentarius Commission （CAC）. These results implied that it may be unsafe for growing Bt transgenic rice in heavily Cd-polluted areas. No significant difference in Zn was found between the two varieties with the exception of roots at Zn amendment level of 600 mg/kg, while Pb contents in KMD were much higher in the straw at the lead amendment level of 1000 mg/kg and in the root at 250 mg Pb/kg. Data on the heavy metal accumulation patterns for the genetically modified rice may be used for the selection of growing areas as well as for plant residue management for Bt rice.

The Influence of Transgenic cry1Ab/cry1Ac,cry1C and cry2A Rice on Non-Target Planthoppers and Their Main Predators Under Field Conditions

Transgenic Bt rice has been shown to be an effective means of controlling Lepidoptera pests of rice. However, the potential roles of transgenic rice on planthoppers and their predators need to be investigated before its commercialization. Population density, species dominance and population dynamics are important parameters of arthropods populations in field. So the impacts of three transgenic Bt rice strains expressing crylAb/crylAc, crylC and cry2A on population density, species dominance and population dynamics of three species of planthoppers （Nilaparvata lugens, Sogatella furcifera and Laodelphax striatellus） and their three main predators （ Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Pirata subpiraticus and Theridium octomaculatum） were evaluated at three sites in Hubei Province, China, in the current study. The results showed that among three species of planthoppers, both in transgenic and non-transgenic rice field, the predominant species ofplanthoppers within phytophagous guild was S. furcifera at any site either growing season （46-50%）. Significantly higher population density ofN. lugens was observed in T2A-1 field relative to Minghui 63 field at Wuxue in 2010. The species dominance of predator, P. subpiraticus, in TT51 field was significantly higher than that in T 1 C-19 and T2A-1 fields in 2009 at Xiaogan site. Sampling date significantly influenced six arthropods except for P. subpiraticus in 2010. The interaction between rice strain^sampling date had no significant adverse effects on the population dynamics of three species of planthoppers and their predators, except for several individual species in 2009. The interaction among rice strain^sampling date^sampling site also had no significant effect on six arthropods except for S. furcifera in 2009. The results indicated that transgenic Bt rice expressing crylAb/crylAc, cry2A and crylC had no significant adverse effects on the population dynamics of three planthoppers and their predators in most investigated data and sampling site.

Effects of Pesticide Applications on the Biochemical Properties of Transgenic cry 2A Rice and the Life History Parameters of Nilaparvata lugens Stl (Homptera: Delphacidae)

Effects of transgenic Bt rice on non-target pests following pesticide applications plays an important role in evaluating the ecological safety of transgenic rice. Changes of the life history parameters of laboratory population of Nilaparvata lugens feeding on transgenic Bt rice T2A-1 and its parental line cv. MH63 as the control, and the contents of oxalic acid and soluble sugar following three pesticides （triazophos, jinggangmycin and chlorantraniliprole） treatments were investigated in this paper. Results showed that the population parameters of N. lugens and the physiological and biochemical parameters of rice did not differ significantly between T2A-1 and MH63 without pesticide application. But, the emergence rate （ER）, the nymphal number of next generation （NN）, and the index of population trend （IP） on T2A-1 treated with 10 mg L^-1 of triazophos were significantly higher than those on MH63, respectively, while the hatchability （HB） on T2A-1 treated with the three pesticides were obviously lower than those on MH 63. Furthermore, the content of oxalic acid in MH63 treated with 20 mg L-1 triazophos and, 40 and 80 mg L-1 chlorantraniliprole was significantly higher than that in T2A-1, while the content of soluble sugar in T2A-1 treated with 400 mg L-1 jinggangmycin was significantly higher than that in MH63. The results above indicated that triazophos in a low dose could cause a more favor of T2A-1 to population growth of N. lugens compared with MH 63.

Field evaluation of effects of transgenic cry1Ab/cry1Ac,cry1C and cry2A rice on Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and its arthropod predators

The impacts of transgenic Bt rice on target pests and their predators need to be clarified prior to the commercialization of Bt rice.In this study,the percentages of folded leaves of three transgenic Bt rice lines and non-transgenic parental rice line caused by Cnaphalocrocis medinalis were studied over two successive growing seasons.In addition,the population densities,relative abundance and population dynamics of C.medinalis and four species of its natural arthropod predators were investigated at three sites in China.The results showed that rice line significantly affected the percentages of folded leaves and population densities of C.medinalis larvae.Significantly higher percentages of folded leaves were observed on the non-transgenic rice compared with the three transgenic Bt rice on most sampling dates.Significantly higher densities of C.medinalis larvae and higher relative abundance of C.medinalis within phytophages were found on non-transgenic rice compared with three transgenic Bt rice at different sites across the study period.The population dynamics of C.medinalis larvae were significantly affected by rice line,rice line×sampling date,rice line×year,rice line×sampling date×year.However,there was little,if any,significant difference in the relative abundance,population density and population dynamics of the four arthropod predators between the three Bt rice lines and non-transgenic rice.The results of this study indicate that the Bt toxin in transgenic Bt rice can effectively suppress the occurrence of C.medinalis,but has no significant effects on the occurrence of the four predatory arthropod species.