Abstract
The Vip3A, a vegetative Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene, has been introduced into many Cry maize and cotton varieties that can manage the recently occurred Cry1/Cry2 resistance in Noctuidae pests including Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) in the USA. A seed blend refuge has been used for providing susceptible insect populations for Bt maize resistance management. Four field trials were deployed in this study to investigate the effects of Bt protein contamination due to gene flow in seed blend refuges of Viptera maize containing Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20 genes with 0–30% refuges on the survival, development, and reproduction of the parental and F1 generations of H. zea. Viptera maize is highly effective against H. zea and likely expresses a ‘high dose’ for the insect. Compared to the survival on the structured refuge, seed blends reduced approximately 70% of the pupal and adult productions from refuge ears, and the reductions were not related to the refuge percentage. Pupae from the seed blend refuge weighed 22.1% less than those from the structured refuge, but the body mass reduction did not significantly affect the reproduction per female. All field populations were highly resistant to Cry1Ab, but susceptible to Vip3Aa20. Fitness of the F1 generations from the structured and seed blend refuges in diet rearing was generally similar. Data generated from the study can be used in simulation modeling to evaluate the feasibility of seed blends for resistance management.
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Acknowledgements
This publication has been approved by the Associate Vice President & Program Leader of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter) as manuscript No. 2020-234-34768. This paper reports research results only. Mention of a proprietary product name does not constitute an endorsement for its use by LSU AgCenter.
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Partial support was provided by Syngenta Biotechnology (RTC, NC, USA), along with internal support from Department of Entomology, LSU AgCenter.
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MER, IO, and FH conceived and designed the research. JG, SB, MD, SL, WY, and FH conducted the experiments. JG and FH analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors read, revised and approved the manuscript.
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FH received research supports from Syngenta Biotechnology for other related studies. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Communicated by Sharon Downes.
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Guo, J., Oyediran, I., Rice, M.E. et al. Seed blends of pyramided Cry/Vip maize reduce Helicoverpa zea populations from refuge ears. J Pest Sci 94, 959–968 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01307-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01307-6