Reduced Mythimna separata infestation on Bt corn could benefit aphids

Use of genetically engineered plants that express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been proven efficacious for managing lepidopteran pests. However, in some cases herbivores that are not targeted by the Bt trait have increased in importance. It has been suggest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insect science 2021-08, Vol.28 (4), p.1139-1146
Main Authors: Li, Xiang‐Wen, Du, Li‐Xiao, Zhang, Lei, Peng, Yu‐Fa, Hua, Hong‐Xia, Romeis, Jörg, Li, Yun‐He
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aphidoidea
Butterflies & moths
Caterpillars
Commercialization
Corn
Crop damage
Fecundity
Genetic engineering
genetically engineered crops
Growth rate
Herbivores
Infestation
Insecticide resistance
Insects
interspecific relationship
Mythimna separata
Larvae
Mythimna separata
non‐target effects
Pests
Population growth
Rhopalosiphum maidis
Transgenic plants
Vegetables
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Summary:Use of genetically engineered plants that express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been proven efficacious for managing lepidopteran pests. However, in some cases herbivores that are not targeted by the Bt trait have increased in importance. It has been suggested that reduced caterpillar damage to Bt crops could lead to decreased levels of induced plant defensive compounds which might benefit other non‐target herbivores. Here we investigated the potential effect of reduced damage by larvae of Mythimna separata on aphid populations in Bt corn. We compared the performance of Rhopalosiphum maidis feeding on non‐Bt corn plants that had been infested by M. separata larvae or were uninfested. The results showed that caterpillar‐infested corn plants significantly reduced the fitness of R. maidis leading to a prolonged nymphal development time, reduced adult longevity and fecundity compared to uninfested plants. Consequently, the population growth rate of corn aphids feeding on caterpillar‐infested corn plants was significantly lower than on uninfested plants. As expected, the aphids performed significantly better on Lepidoptera‐resistant Bt corn than on non‐Bt corn when plants were infested with M. separata, since the caterpillars caused very little damage to the Bt plants. The current findings indicate that reduced M. separata infestation could benefit aphid development in Bt corn. Bt corn has the potential to be commercialized in China in the near future and aphids and other non‐target pests should be monitored in the farming fields.
ISSN:1672-9609
1744-7917
DOI:10.1111/1744-7917.12833