Background: In spite of concern regarding potential non-target effects of GM crops, few studies have compared GM pest control with conventional methods. The impacts of cypermethrin and oilseed rape expressing oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) were compared in this study on the predator Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens).
Results: Adults fed purified rOC-1 showed a subtle shift in digestive protease profile, with an increasing reliance on serine proteases (chymotrypsin), increase in aspartic proteases and a slight reduction in elastase activity. Although there were no effects on mortality, onset of oviposition was delayed; however, once egg production commenced, egg laying and hatching success rates were comparable with those of controls. Oryzacystatin-1 expressed in pollen showed no detrimental effects. Cypermethrin had no effect on mortality owing to high levels of non-specific esterase activity resulting in partial breakdown of the insecticide. In spite of this, there was a significant delay in onset of oviposition and a significant reduction in egg production and viability.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the potential for pest management to impact on predators, but importantly it highlights the ability of the predator to detoxify/respond to treatments with different modes of action. In this case, exposure to an insecticide carried a greater fitness cost than exposure to a protease inhibitor expressed in transgenic crops.