Salles S.M.D. , Pinto L.M.N. , Pavani F. , Machado V. , Fiuza L.M.

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia, Laboratório de Microbiologia e Toxicologia, Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), CEP: 93001-970 Caixa Postal 275. São Leopoldo, RS, Brasil
Author    Correspondence author
Bt Research, 2015, Vol. 6, No. 5   doi: 10.5376/bt.2015.06.0005
Received: 21 May, 2015    Accepted: 23 Jun., 2015    Published: 16 Aug., 2015

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Salles et al., 2015, Interactions between Bacillus thuringiensis proteins, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Campoletis flavicincta (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Bt Research, Vol.6, No.5 1-10 (doi: 10.5376/bt.2015.06.0005)

Plant expression of the entomopathogenic bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis cry gene hás reduced the damage created by insect pests in several economically important cultures. The commercialization of Bt plants for insect management has revolutionized agriculture and become a major tool for integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Among the parasitoids of the pest species Spodoptera frugiperda Campoletis flavicincta (Ashmead) is a major parasitoid of larvae. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the interactions of the Bt proteins (from strains of B. thuringiensis, rice and Bt corn) on the parasitoid C. flavicincta and the armyworm S. frugiperda.  To evaluate this interaction, S. frugiperda larvae were exposed to four different assays: (T1) without parasitism or exposure to the Bt proteins (control); (T2) exposure only to Bt proteins (Bt plants or monogenic strains); (T3) exposure only to parasitism by C. flavicincta; and (T4) exposure to both parasitism and Bt proteins (Bt plants or monogenic strains). In each treatment, 30 larvae and three replications were included, for a total of 360 larvae. In general, the treatments T4 (Bt proteins and C. flavicincta) were more effective in controlling S. frugiperda thus indicating a potential to be used for the pest control in an integrated pest management system.The biological characteristics of C. flavicincta that developed into larvae under the action of Bt thuringiensis differed from parasitoids that emerged from healthy larvae (control). Therefore, the results in this laboratory system may significantly differ from what would be seen in the Field.

Parasitoids; Biotech crops; Cry proteins; Integrated pest management; Rice; Corn