[Frontiers in Bioscience 14, 4008-4014, January 1, 2009]

Effects of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton on the growth and reproduction of earthworm Eisenia foetida

Biao Liu1, Jinjie Cui2, Jun Meng1, Wenjun Hu3, Junyu Luo2, Yangping Zheng1

1State Key Biosafety Laboratory, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences(NIES), Ministry of Environmental Protection of China, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210042, China; 2 Cotton Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan 455000, China, 3 School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Materials and methods
4. Results
4.1. Effects of acute toxicity of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton on E. foetida
4.2. Effects of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton on SOD Activity of E. foetida
4.3. Effects of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton on the growth of E. foetida
4.4. Effects of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton on the reproduction of E. foetida
5. Discussion
6. Acknowledgments
7. References

1. ABSTRACT

With the expansion of the planted area of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton, the effects of this crop on non-target organisms in soil, including earthworms, are becoming the most important aspect of their ecological risk assessment. Laboratory toxicity studies were conducted to determine the effects of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton leaves, containing high concentrations of the Bt toxin and cowpea trypsin inhibitor, on the earthworm Eisenia foetida. In comparison with the non-transgenic cotton line Zhong23, transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton Zhong41 had no significant acute toxicity on E. foetida. Moreover, the leaves of transgenic Bt+CpTI cotton were more suitable than the non-transgenic cotton Zhong23 for E. foetida growth and reproduction (time of reproduction, the number of cocoons and newly incubated offspring).