GMO FAQ: Do GMO Bt (insect-resistant) crops pose a threat to human health or the environment? geneticliteracyproject.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from geneticliteracyproject.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In 2006, a small airplane started buzzing each cotton field in Arizona, a thin, dust-like cloud trailing behind it. The dust was millions of insects called pink bollworms, and the flights were part of an audacious scheme to kill them off.Pink bollworms are insidious foes of cotton. Their larvae burrow into the plant’s seed pods, called bolls, destroying the fluffy fiber within. Where bollworms infest a field, farmers may spray insecticides many times a year to limit the damage. But the air-dropped insects released in Arizona had been exposed to radiation that left them sterile, so any pink bollworms on the ground that mated with them would produce no larvae. The sterile insects were only the mopping-up part of an eradication campaign. The cotton plants themselves had struck the first, most vital blow. Genetically modified with genes obtained from an insect-killing bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, the plants churned out proteins that are toxic to pink bollworms, making
Bt crops keep many agricultural pests at bay and have drastically reduced the use of pesticides. But scientists warn that these valuable tools are in jeopardy due to overuse and abuse.
Bruce Tabashnik, a Regents Professor of Entomology whose discoveries helped eradicate the invasive pink bollworm from the United States and Mexico, is one of 120 new members elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
A new review examines global patterns of resistance to Bt crops and outlines strategies for maximizing sustainability of this important pest management tool.