AGRO 204

Bacillus thuringiensis AGRO CROP

BIOTECHNOL
Corn OGY

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
What I s Bt?
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
BIOTECHNOL
OGY

Bt is a soil- dwelling
microorganism
which contains the
Bt toxin.

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
 History of Bt Corn.
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
In 1987, Monsanto started field trials with GMO biotech plants. It
took until 1996 to complete the tests. BIOTECHNOL
In 1997, their GM corn variety was introduced in the U.S. OGY

The European corn borer was the next pest to be attacked by

GMOs in 1996 with the introduction of "Bt corn hybrids." The corn
borer is the most damaging insect pest of corn throughout the U.S.
and Canada with losses exceeding $1 billion a year in the 1990s.

For decades, agricultural scientists have known that a common

bacteria found in the soil can produce toxins that are deadly to
insects but harmless to humans because they are destroyed within
seconds by the acids in the human digestive tract

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
 History of Bt Corn.
AGRO 204
Bt corn was first introduced in the Philippines in AGRO CROP
BIOTECHNOL
1996.
OGY
Between 1999 and 2002, approval from the
National Committee on Biosafety in the
Philippines, field trials of Bt corn were conducted
in the major corn-producing areas in the country.

in 2002, the Philippine Department of Agriculture

approved the commercial distribution of Bt corn
(specifically Monsanto’s YieldgardTM 818 and
838).

This made the Philippines the first country in

Asia to commercialize Bt corn. Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
 What is Bt Corn?
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
BIOTECHNOL
• Transgenic maize is corn t hat OGY

has been genet ically modif ied

to have agricult urally
de sirable t rait s; e .g. herbicide
and pest resist ance .
• Some of t he most popular t ype s
of t ransgenic crops are
Roundup Ready plant s.
Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
How does Bt Corn WorkS?
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
BIOTECHNOL
OGY

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
 How does Bt Corn Work?
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
BIOTECHNOL
OGY
• Creat ing Bt Corn is
accomplished through
inserting a gene f rom Bt.
• This allows t he plant t o produce Cry
proteins all by it self .
• When ingest ed by an insect , it s own dige stive
e nz yme s
act ivat e t he t oxic f orm of t he crystal protein.
• The digestive system of t he insect crystallizes
and it starves t o deat h.
Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
What are the benefits of Bt Corn?
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
-It represents an environmentally sustainable way to BIOTECHNOL
control devastating insect pests and, therefore, to OGY
ensure yield.

-Also, grain from Bt corn is often of better quality

than grain from conventional corn hybrids, since
insect damage reduces grain quality.

-Studies show that there is a significant economic

return from growing Bt corn, with yields protected in
years when there is a heavy outbreak of corn borer.

-There is also evidence that Bt corn provides a form

of protection to non-Bt corn by reducing the overall
population of corn borers
Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
Bt and the Environment
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
Bt products are environmentally safe. BIOTECHNOL
OGY

In fact, the insecticidal Cry proteins

expressed in Bt corn are also produced
naturally in the environment by Bacillus
thuringiensis, a bacterium found in soils
throughout the world.

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
Bt and the Environment
AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
Bt products are environmentally safe. BIOTECHNOL
OGY

In fact, the insecticidal Cry proteins

expressed in Bt corn are also produced
naturally in the environment by Bacillus
thuringiensis, a bacterium found in soils
throughout the world.

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
 AGRO 204
What are the Impacts on Natural Enemies and other AGRO CROP
Non-Target Organisms? BIOTECHNOL
OGY
Bt corn does not affect beneficial insects including
honey bees, ladybird beetles, green lacewing larvae,
spiders, pirate bugs, damsel bugs, syrphid flies or
parasitic wasps.

Bt corn for rootworm control does not affect

beneficial soil arthropods including centipedes,
millipedes, carrion beetles, tiger beetles, crickets,
ants, collembola, or earthworms.

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
Bt and the Monarch Butterfly. AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
Monarch butterfly larvae entirely dependent on the
BIOTECHNOL
common milkweed for food. OGY
Initial U.S. laboratory studies conducted in 1999 found that
the mortality rate of monarch larvae increased when fed
milkweed leaves that were dusted with Bt pollen.
These studies expanded on the extensive risk assessment
already completed for Bt corn on non-target insects, but also
specifically addressed the impact of Bt pollen on the monarch
butterfly and other caterpillar species.
The main conclusions from the subsequent studies were
that Bt corn hybrids grown in Ontario and throughout the Corn
Belt of North America pose a negligible threat to monarch
butterfly larvae. Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
 AGRO 204
AGRO CROP
BIOTECHNOL
How Resistance Could Develop? OGY

Scientists across North America agree that

both European corn borer (ECB) and corn
rootworm (CRW) could develop resistance to
Bt under conditions of continued use.

Reported By,
DRIGO M.
URMIN
Europe an Corn Bore r

• Ostrinia nub ilalis f irst

ident if ied in Bost on in 19 17 .
• Int roduce d f rom Hungary and It aly by
way of broom corn plant s.
• Fe eds on over 250 dif f erent kinds of
plant s.
• First gene rat ion bore s int o t he st alk
and causes t he plant t o fall over.
• Secondgenerat ion bores int o t he t
assles and causes t he ears t o fall
out .
 Ref ere nces
• Alst ad, D.N., e t al. 1995 . Managing t he
Resist
Evolut ance Inse ct Plant s. Science . 268 :
ion oft o Transgenic
1894 - 1896 .
• Ives, A.R., et al. 1996 . Evolut ion of Insect Resist ance t
Bacillus thuringiensis . Science. 273 : 14 12 - 14 13 .
o
• Goldberger, J., et al. 2005 . Bt Corn Farer Compliance
wit h Insect Resist ance Manage ment Require ment s
Minnesot
in a and Wisconsin. Ag BioForum. 8 (2 ): 15 1- 160 .
• Gesell, S. 9 / 9 / 2006 . European Corn Borer Fact Sheet .
11/ 28 / 2006 .
ent o.psu.edu/ ext ension/ fact sheet s/ european_ corn_
tborer.h
m
• Wit kowski, J.F., et al. 2002 . Bt Corn and European Corn
Borer. 11/ 28 / 2006 .
ext ension.umn.edu/ dist ribut ion/ cropsyst e ms/ bc7055 .ht
ml # ch6