Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
Science. 2010 Oct 8;330(6001):222-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1190242.
Transgenic maize engineered to express insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has become widely adopted in U.S. agriculture. In 2009, Bt maize was planted on more than 22.2 million hectares, constituting 63% of the U.S. crop. Using statistical analysis of per capita growth rate estimates, we found that areawide suppression of the primary pest Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer) is associated with Bt maize use. Cumulative benefits over 14 years are an estimated $3.2 billion for maize growers in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with more than $2.4 billion of this total accruing to non-Bt maize growers. Comparable estimates for Iowa and Nebraska are $3.6 billion in total, with $1.9 billion for non-Bt maize growers. These results affirm theoretical predictions of pest population suppression and highlight economic incentives for growers to maintain non-Bt maize refugia for sustainable insect resistance management.
转Bt 基因玉米，即通过基因工程技术将苏云金芽孢杆菌（Bt）中的杀虫蛋白基因导入玉米中而获得的玉米品种，已在美国农业中得到广泛应用。2009 年，Bt 玉米的种植面积超过 2220 万公顷，占美国玉米种植面积的 63%。我们利用人均增长率估计的统计分析发现，大面积抑制主要害虫欧洲玉米螟（Ostrinia nubilalis）与 Bt 玉米的使用有关。在伊利诺伊州、明尼苏达州和威斯康星州，14 年来，玉米种植者的累计收益估计为 32 亿美元，其中超过 24 亿美元来自非 Bt 玉米种植者。爱荷华州和内布拉斯加州的总收益为 36 亿美元，其中非 Bt 玉米种植者的收益为 19 亿美元。这些结果证实了害虫种群抑制的理论预测，并强调了种植者为可持续的昆虫抗性管理而维持非 Bt 玉米避难所的经济激励。
