Susceptibility to BT of wild lepidopteran species in Nature Reserve in Sicily

Abstract

A wide range of crop plants and trees have been transformed with genes derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to express insecticidal proteins (insect-resistant Bt plants). Whereas the adoption of Bt plants constitutes one of the most common uses of transgenic plants in agriculture, the environmental benefits and risks remain an issue. To preserve the natural reserve and their fauna UE proposed that in future the Member State specify a minimum separation distance of metres between fields of GM plants and nature reserves or to forbid cultivation of GM plant in particular area based on scientific data. Natural reserve in Sicily have many endemism and rare species so next steps also in Italy should consider this before adaptation of GM crops. One first step is to obtain a listing of lepidopteran species that feed on these crops and their wild relatives, and to determine the host range of the larvae. Second to assess Bt toxin susceptibility for these lepidopterans. Only few species of Lepidoptera have been tested for susceptibility; and the literature suggests that generalizations about susceptibility among taxa are difficult due to the variability within families. However a similar approach could be interesting also for Bt as commercial product. We report the data on the susceptibility to Cry IAb and to Bt as spray for some not target lepidopteran species.