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Article
Understanding successful resistance management: The European corn borer and Bt corn in the United States
GM Crops & Food
  • Blair D. Siegfried, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • Richard L. Hellmich, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2012
DOI
10.4161/gmcr.20715
Abstract

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) has been a major pest of corn and other crops in North America since its accidental introduction nearly a hundred years ago. Wide adoption of transgenic corn hybrids that express toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis, referred to as Bt corn, has suppressed corn borer populations and reduced the pest status of this insect in parts of the Corn Belt. Continued suppression of this pest, however, will depend on managing potential resistance to Bt corn, currently through the high-dose refuge (HDR) strategy. In this review, we describe what has been learned with regard to O. nubilalis resistance to Bt toxins either through laboratory selection experiments or isolation of resistance from field populations. We also describe the essential components of the HDR strategy as they relate to O. nubilalis biology and ecology. Additionally, recent developments in insect resistance management (IRM) specific to O. nubilalis that may affect the continued sustainability of this technology are considered.

Comments

This article is from GM Crops & Food (2012): 184–193, doi:10.4161/gmcr.20715.

Rights
This article is available open access under a CC BY-NC license.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Blair D. Siegfried and Richard L. Hellmich. "Understanding successful resistance management: The European corn borer and Bt corn in the United States" GM Crops & Food Vol. 3 Iss. 3 (2012) p. 184 - 193
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/richard_hellmich/70/