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Transgenic Cry1Ab rice does not impact ecological fitness and predation of a generalist spider.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The commercial release of rice genetically engineered to express a Cry1Ab protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for control of Lepidoptera in China is a subject of debate. One major point of the debate has focused on the ecological safety of Bt rice on nontarget organisms, especially predators and parasitoids that help control populations of insect pests. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A tritrophic bioassay was conducted to evaluate the potential impact of Cry1Ab-expressing rice on fitness parameters of a predaceous ground spider (Pardosa pseudoannulata (Bösenberg et Strand)) that had fed on Bt rice-fed brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)) nymphs. Survival, development time and fecundity of this spider were not different when they were fed with Bt rice-fed or non-Bt rice-fed prey. Furthermore, ELISA and PCR gut assays, as well as a functional response trial, indicated that predation by P. pseudoannulata was not significantly different in Bt rice or non-Bt rice fields. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The transgenic Cry1Ab rice lines tested in this study had no adverse effects on the survival, developmental time and fecundity of P. pseudoannulata in the laboratory or on predation under field conditions. This suggests that this important predator would not be harmed if transgenic Cry1Ab rice were commercialized.

SUBMITTER: Tian JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3325204 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Transgenic Cry1Ab rice does not impact ecological fitness and predation of a generalist spider.

Tian Jun-Ce JC Chen Yang Y Li Zhao-Liang ZL Li Kai K Chen Mao M Peng Yu-Fa YF Hu Cui C Shelton Anthony M AM Ye Gong-Yin GY

PloS one 20120412 4

<h4>Background</h4>The commercial release of rice genetically engineered to express a Cry1Ab protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for control of Lepidoptera in China is a subject of debate. One major point of the debate has focused on the ecological safety of Bt rice on nontarget organisms, especially predators and parasitoids that help control populations of insect pests.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>A tritrophic bioassay was conducted to evaluate the potential impact of Cry1Ab-exp ...[more]

PMID: 22511982

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Project description:Genetic modifications in rice, which resulted in insect resistance, have been highly efficacious. However, they have also induced undesirable secondary phenotypes, such as delayed flowering. The molecular mechanisms associated with these unwanted effects remain unclear. Here, we showed that the flowering time for insect-resistant transgenic cry1Ab/c rice Huahui-1 (HH1) was delayed, compared with that for the parental rice Minghui-63 (MH63), cultivated on farmland and saline-alkaline soils. In contrast, the insect-resistant transgenic cry1C ^* rice cultivars T1C-19 and MH63 had similar flowering times under the same conditions. We quantified the following: the expression of five major flowering genes in HH1, T1C-19, and MH63; florigen Hd3a protein expression levels in HH1 and MH63; interactions between Cry1Ab/c and the five main flowering proteins; and the effects of E3s ubiquitin ligase-mediated Cry1Ab/c expression on florigen Hd3a. Hd3a transcription was significantly lower in HH1 but not in T1C-19, compared with that in MH63. The results of yeast two-hybrid, complementary bimolecular fluorescence, and co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that florigen Hd3a interacted with the exogenous Cry1Ab/c expressed in HH1 and not the exogenous Cry1C^* expressed in T1C-19. When Cry1Ab/c, Hd3a, and E3s fusion proteins were transiently co-expressed in tobacco cells, the Hd3a expression level was significantly lower than the level of Cry1Ab/c and Hd3a co-expression. Thus, the downregulation of Hd3a expression and the interaction between Cry1Ab/c and Hd3a interfere with Hd3a protein expression and might cooperatively delay HH1 flowering time. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to explain the delay in flowering time in insect-resistant transgenic rice, mediated by interactions between exogenous and endogenous proteins. This information might help elucidate the molecular mechanisms associated with these unwanted phenotypes effects and improve the process of biosafety assessment of transgenic rice.

Project description:The cellular localization of exogenous proteins expressed in transgenic crops not only determines their stability, but also their effects on crop growth and development, including under stressful conditions; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we determined the cellular distribution of exogenously expressed Cry1Ab/c protein in insect-resistant transgenic rice Huahui-1 (HH1) cells through subcellular localization, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and western blot analyses. Interaction between the Cry1Ab/c protein and the preliminarily screened endogenous plasma membrane protein Ca2+-ATPase was investigated through yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BIFC), and co-immunoprecipitation analyses. The potential interaction mechanism was analyzed by comparing the cellular localization and interaction sites between Cry1Ab/c and Ca2+-ATPase. Phenotypic indices and Ca2+-ATPase activity, which may be regulated by the Cry1Ab/c-Ca2+-ATPase interaction, were determined in transgenic HH1 and the parental line Minghui-63 under stress-free and salt-stress conditions. The results showed that Cry1Ab/c was not only distributed in the cytoplasm and nucleus but was also distributed on the plasma membrane, where it interacted with plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase. This interaction partially retain plasma membrane protein Ca2+-ATPase in the nucleus by a BIFC experiment and thus may affect Ca2+-ATPase activity on the membrane by altering the cellular location of the protein. Consistently, our results confirmed that the presence of Cry1Ab/c in the transgenic HH1 resulted in a reduction in Ca2+-ATPase activity as well as causing detrimental effects on plant phenotype, including significantly reduced plant height and biomass, compared to parental MH63; and that these detrimental effects were more pronounced under salt stress conditions, impacting the salt resistance of the transgenic plants. We suggest that the Cry1Ab/c-Ca2+-ATPase interaction may explain the plasma membrane localization of Cry1Ab/c, which lacks a signal peptide and a transmembrane domain, and the adverse effects of Cry1Ab/c expression on the growth and development of transgenic HH1 plants under salt stress. This information may clarify the molecular mechanisms of these unintended effects and demonstrate the feasibility of evaluating the success and performance of genetic modification of commercially vital crops.

Dataset Information

Transgenic Cry1Ab rice does not impact ecological fitness and predation of a generalist spider.

Publications

Transgenic Cry1Ab rice does not impact ecological fitness and predation of a generalist spider.

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