The effects of Bt Cry1Ah toxin on worker honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana)

Ping-Li Dai , Wei Zhou , Jie Zhang , Wei-Yu Jiang , Qiang Wang , Hong-Juan Cui , Ji-Hu Sun , Yan-Yan Wu , Ting Zhou

We conducted feeding trials in a laboratory setting to test for possible adverse effects of Cry1Ah toxin mixed thoroughly into sugar syrup (60% w/v sucrose solution) at three concentrations (10 μg/mL, 10 ng/mL, and 1 ng/mL) on the survival, pollen consumption, and hypopharyngeal gland mass of Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana. No significant differences in the survival of A. mellifera or A. cerana were found among groups fed on sugar syrup with or without Cry1Ah toxin. No significant differences were found in the longevity of A. mellifera fed sugar syrup with Cry1Ah toxin compared with the control. No differences were detected in the pollen consumption of A. mellifera ligustica and A. cerana cerana. No significant differences were found in the hypopharyngeal gland weight of 12-day-old honeybees A. mellifera ligustica and A. cerana cerana fed on sugar syrup with Cry1Ah toxin compared with the control. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the risks of transgenic corn crops for honeybees.

Mots clés: Apis mellifera ligustica; Apis cerana cerana; Bacillus thuringiensis; Cry1Ah toxin; risk assessment

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

Ping-Li Dai, Wei Zhou, Jie Zhang, Wei-Yu Jiang, Qiang Wang, et al.. The effects of Bt Cry1Ah toxin on worker honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana). Apidologie, 2012, 43 (4), pp.384-391. ⟨10.1007/s13592-011-0103-z⟩. ⟨hal-01003526⟩