A meta-analysis of effects of Bt crops on honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

PloS One
Jian J DuanZachary Y Huang

Abstract

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are the most important pollinators of many agricultural crops worldwide and are a key test species used in the tiered safety assessment of genetically engineered insect-resistant crops. There is concern that widespread planting of these transgenic crops could harm honey bee populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of 25 studies that independently assessed potential effects of Bt Cry proteins on honey bee survival (or mortality). Our results show that Bt Cry proteins used in genetically modified crops commercialized for control of lepidopteran and coleopteran pests do not negatively affect the survival of either honey bee larvae or adults in laboratory settings. Although the additional stresses that honey bees face in the field could, in principle, modify their susceptibility to Cry proteins or lead to indirect effects, our findings support safety assessments that have not detected any direct negative effects of Bt crops for this vital insect pollinator.

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Citations

Apr 30, 2009·Annual Review of Plant Biology·Peggy G Lemaux
Jun 27, 2009·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Christoph Then
Nov 30, 2012·Journal of Biomedicine & Biotechnology·S Ravi Rajan, Deborah K Letourneau
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Oct 18, 2011·Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture·Jagadeesan Premanandh
Jan 31, 2014·Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry·Jiamei WangYufa Peng
Oct 24, 2014·Annual Review of Entomology·Reed M Johnson
Jan 10, 2008·PloS One·Jian J DuanZachary Y Huang
Dec 24, 2011·PloS One·Harmen P HendriksmaIngolf Steffan-Dewenter
Apr 8, 2017·Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety·Eva Vianey Alquisira-RamírezRamón Suarez-Rodríguez
May 14, 2011·Journal of Integrative Plant Biology·Hui-Lin YuKong-Ming Wu
May 1, 2012·Environmental Biosafety Research·UNKNOWN Center for Environmental Risk Assessment, ILSI Research Foundation
May 1, 2012·Environmental Biosafety Research·Morven Mc Lean
Nov 13, 2020·Journal of Economic Entomology·Bo HanPingli Dai

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
transgenic

Software Mentioned

Adobe Photoshop
MetaWin

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