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Bt resistance plan appraised

Nature Biotechnology volume 17, pages 531–532 (1999)Cite this article

On April 19, four of the major worldwide producers of transgenic corn expressing insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), filed a joint insect resistance management plan, on request of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, DC). The move follows litigation by environmental activists and organic farmers against the EPA in February ( Nature Biotechnology 17, 315, 1999) to try to cancel approvals of Bt crops, which accounted for about a third of the genetically modified crops planted worldwide in 1998. One of the suit's central claims is that the EPA has failed to heed experts' advice regarding insect resistance management plans. The new plan—although not intended as a direct response to the lawsuit—partially undercuts some of the plaintiffs' claims, while drawing attention to the variation in current insect resistance management strategies.

According to entomologists, Bt insect resistance management plans should include "refuges," or fields of non-Bt plants where populations of insects will not encounter the toxin and will therefore fail to develop resistance to it. If the refuges are suitably sized and near enough to the fields of transgenic plants, any resistant insects will be likely to breed with nonresistant insects, diluting the trait out of the pest population. Because Bt is the only effective insecticide permitted in organic farming, the 22 farmers listed as plaintiffs claim they will be harmed by resistant insects that develop in fields of transgenic plants.

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  1. Alan Dove

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Dove, A. Bt resistance plan appraised. Nat Biotechnol 17, 531–532 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/9830

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