The latest research questions the insect resistance ability of transgenic maize

Introduction: two years ago, a scientific paper said that a kind of genetically modified corn can kill the larva of monarch butterflies, which caused a lot of discussions on the safety of genetically modified crops Now, new research shows that genetically modified corn, once known as resistant, has no effect on the monarch However, this does not mean that the debate on the safety of genetically modified food is over The focus of this debate is Bt transgenic maize In May 1999, the British journal Nature published a paper by John Rossi, an associate professor of Cornell University in the United States, which attracted worldwide attention According to the paper, Bt corn is implanted with a special gene, which can make corn pollen contain toxin The larvae of monarch butterfly, which live on the leaves of milkweed common in and near corn fields, die one after another after eating the leaves polluted by Bt corn pollen Another project in Iowa last year also supported Cornell scientists The overall conclusion of the latest study, jointly funded by the U.S Department of agriculture and agricultural biotechnology companies, is that butterfly larvae are unlikely to be exposed to lethal levels of pollen unless it comes from a maize that is being phased out and has a high toxin content in its pollen In Iowa, only 0.4% of monarch butterflies are likely to encounter pollen with such high toxin content The researchers found that 1000 Bt corn pollen grains per square centimeter of leaf are necessary for pollen to kill larvae, a level far below that They also pointed out that laboratory experiments conducted by Cornell University researchers could not be repeated, so previous experiments needed to be reevaluated They think the pollen used by Cornell researchers in the experiment seems to have been mixed with other ingredients of genetically modified corn or insecticides, and it's not the pollen that kills the larvae, but other ingredients The research paper was published this week in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences But the proponents of the original argument say that the new results are still questionable The new study only states the short-term impact of Bt maize, without considering its long-term effect (author:) share to feed Weibo share to: