The adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops has occurred rapidly in the United States. The transfer of GM corn byproducts from agricultural fields to nearby streams after harvest is significant and occurs well into the post-harvest year. These corn leaves, stems, and cobs then become a detrital food source for organisms, such as shredders in the stream ecosystem. Considering that the nontarget effects of Bt corn have been observed in some terrestrial organisms, we assessed whether Bt toxins affect an important aquatic organism, juvenile F. rusticus crayfish. Juvenile crayfish were fed six distinct diet treatments: two varieties of Bt corn, two non-Bt controls of herbicide tolerant corn, and two controls: fish gelatin and river detritus. Juveniles were fed these diets while housed in flow-through artificial streams that received natural stream water from a local source. Specific growth rate and survivorship of the crayfish were measured throughout the study. Juveniles fed corn diets grew significantly less and had reduced survival compared with juveniles fed fish gelatin or river detritus diets. Furthermore, juveniles fed one Bt variety of corn (VT Triple Pro®) exhibited significantly less growth than those fed one of the herbicide tolerant varieties (Roundup Ready 2®). Our study shows that corn inputs to streams may be detrimental to the growth and survivorship of juvenile crayfish and that certain Bt varieties may exacerbate these negative effects. These effects on crayfish will have repercussions for the entire ecosystem, because crayfish are conduits of energy between many trophic levels.

中文翻译：

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Bt蛋白加剧了幼小锈病（F.rustus）小龙虾饲喂玉米饮食中的负面生长效应。

在美国，转基因作物的收养迅速。收获后转基因玉米副产物从农田转移到附近溪流的过程很重要，并且发生在收获后的一年。这些玉米叶，茎和穗轴然后成为生物的有害食物来源，例如河流生态系统中的切碎机。考虑到在某些陆地生物中已观察到Bt玉米的非目标作用，我们评估了Bt毒素是否影响重要的水生生物，即幼小F.rustus小龙虾。对幼龙虾进行了六种不同的饮食处理：两种Bt玉米品种，两种非Bt对照抗除草剂玉米，以及两种对照：鱼明胶和河屑。将这些饲料喂养给少年，同时将它们放在流通的人造溪流中，这些溪流从当地来源接收天然溪流水。在整个研究过程中，测量了小龙虾的特定生长率和存活率。与以鱼明胶或河碎屑饮食喂养的少年相比，以玉米饮食喂养的少年生长显着减少且存活率降低。此外，饲喂一种Bt玉米品种（VT TriplePro®）的幼虫的生长显着低于饲喂一种耐除草剂品种（Roundup Ready2®）的幼虫。我们的研究表明，流向玉米的输入可能不利于幼龙虾的生长和存活，某些Bt品种可能加剧这些负面影响。这些对小龙虾的影响将对整个生态系统产生影响，