Virginia, USA
May 6, 2013

http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2013/May13.pdf

Table of Contents

RESEARCH NEWS

Resistance Evolution to Plant-Produced Bt-toxins of the First Generation of Genetically Engineered Diabrotica-active Bt-Maize Events by Western Corn Rootworm: Management and Monitoring Considerations
Yann Devos, Lisa N Meihls, József Kiss, Bruce E Hibbard
Western corn rootworm (WCR) is a major coleopteran maize pest in North America and the European Union, and has traditionally been managed through crop rotation and broad-spectrum insecticides. Genetically engineered maize transformation events expressing insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis toxins against corn rootworms offer an additional management tool for WCR and have been valuable in reducing insecticide use and increasing farm productivity in North America. There is a concern that the widespread, repeated, and exclusive use of the same Bt-maize event expressing a single Bt-toxin against WCR will create significant selection pressure and increase the risk of WCR evolving resistance. Resistance evolution may lead to altered pest control practices that may cause adverse environmental effects.

Green Revolution Plantations: Could Short Trees Be a Big Thing?
Amy Klocko, Brian Stanton, Cees van Oosten, and Steven H. Strauss
Semi-dwarfism is a beneficial trait in many crop species. The benefits associated with semi-dwarfism became a part of mainstream agriculture during the “Green Revolution,” which greatly improved yields of wheat and rice. Semi-dwarfism was proposed as a beneficial trait for some types of tree plantations over a decade ago1; however, the idea goes against the convention of maximizing single tree biomass production and growth rate during tree breeding. Genes that constrain height amidst competition for light are also hard to find in breeding populations; as such traits are strongly deleterious to natural selection. Thus, semi-dwarfism has received little experimental evaluation in forestry to date.

Food Science Expert: Genetically Modified Crops Are Overregulated
Bruce Chassy
It has been almost 20 years since the first genetically modified foods showed up in produce aisles throughout the United States and the rest of the world, but controversy continues to surround the products and their regulation. Bruce Chassy, a professor emeritus of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, believes that after thousands of research studies and worldwide planting, "genetically modified foods pose no special risks to consumers or the environment" and are overregulated.
 

Website: http://www.isb.vt.edu

Published: May 7, 2013