Transgenic Maize Has Insignificant Effects on the Diversity of Arthropods: A 3-Year Study

Abstract

In order to provide more evidence for the evaluation of the ecological risks of transgenic maize, arthropod population dynamics and biodiversity in fields planted with two kinds of transgenic maize (DBN9868, expressing the PAT and EPSPS genes, and DBN9936, expressing the Cry1Ab and EPSPS gene) were investigated by direct observation and trapping for three years. The recorded arthropod species belonged to 19 orders and 87 families, including Aphidoidea, Chrysomelidae, Coccinellidae, Chrysopidae and Araneae. The species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Pielou evenness index, dominance index and community similarity index of arthropod communities in maize fields were statistically analyzed, and the results showed that (1) the biodiversity difference of arthropod communities between transgenic maize and non-transgenic maize was smaller than that between different conventional cultivars; (2) the differences between ground-dwelling arthropod communities were less obvious than those between plant-inhabiting arthropod communities; and (3) Lepidoptera, the target pests of Bt maize, were not the dominant population in maize fields, and the dominant arthropod population in maize fields varied greatly between years and months. Combining those results, we concluded that the transgenic maize DBN9868 and DBN9936 had no significant effect on the arthropod communities in the field.

Biosafety and Ecological Assessment of Genetically Engineered and Edited Crops

“…or transfer through different trophic levels and actively participate in natural processes (cycles) in the receiving ecosystems and could cause unintended effects to the exposed organisms (Figure 1). This Special Issue includes four research papers on the impacts of Bt crops on the arthropod community [15,[17][18][19] and two research reports on the effects on soil microbiome [20,21] in the lab and in the field. Generally, no overall significant change was observed in the field studies as the environmental conditions and plant growth stage were likely stronger effects than the engineered status of crop cultivars.…”

“…Regarding the fast development of gene-edited crops, this Special Issue also published a review paper on the regulation perspectives of these novel crops [29]. In some countries, this kind of breeding tool may be exempt from the sorts of regulation imposed on GE crops when genetic manipulation does not involve or result in This Special Issue includes four research papers on the impacts of Bt crops on the arthropod community [15,[17][18][19] and two research reports on the effects on soil microbiome [20,21] in the lab and in the field. Generally, no overall significant change was observed in the field studies as the environmental conditions and plant growth stage were likely stronger effects than the engineered status of crop cultivars.…”