Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-20T19:19:29.563Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A screening method for prioritizing non-target invertebrates for improved biosafety testing of transgenic crops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2008

Jacqui H. Todd ,
Padmaja Ramankutty ,
Emma I. Barraclough  and
Louise A. Malone
Jacqui H. Todd
Affiliation:
The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited (HortResearch), Mt Albert, Private Bag 92169, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Padmaja Ramankutty
Affiliation:
The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited (HortResearch), Mt Albert, Private Bag 92169, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Emma I. Barraclough
Affiliation:
The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited (HortResearch), Mt Albert, Private Bag 92169, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Louise A. Malone
Affiliation:
The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited (HortResearch), Mt Albert, Private Bag 92169, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

We have developed a screening method that can be used during the problem formulation phase of risk assessment to identify and prioritize non-target invertebrates for risk analysis with any transgenic plant. In previously published protocols for this task, five criteria predominated. These criteria have been combined by our method in a simple model which assesses: (1) the possible level of risk presented by the plant to each invertebrate species (through measurements of potential hazard and exposure, the two principal criteria); (2) the hypothetical environmental impact of this risk (determined by the currently known status of the species' population in the ecosystem and its potential resilience to environmental perturbations); (3) the estimated economic, social and cultural value of each species; and (4) the assessed ability to conduct tests with the species. The screening method uses information on each of these criteria entered into a specially designed database that was developed using Microsoft$^{\circledR}$ Access 2003. The database holds biological and ecological information for each non-target species, as well as information about the transgenic plant that is the subject of the risk assessment procedure. Each piece of information is then ranked on the basis of the value of the information to each criterion being measured. This ranking system is flexible, allowing the method to be easily adapted for use in any agro-ecosystem and with any plant modification. A model is then used to produce a Priority Ranking of Non-Target Invertebrates (PRONTI) score for each species, which in turn allows the species to be prioritized for risk assessment. As an example, the method was used to prioritize non-target invertebrates for risk assessment of a hypothetical introduction of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ac-expressing Pinus radiata trees into New Zealand.

Keywords

screening methodnon-target invertebratestransgenic cropsecological risk assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Environmental Biosafety Research , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 35 - 56
Copyright
© ISBR, EDP Sciences, 2008

References

Andow, DA, Hilbeck, A (2004) Science-based risk assessment for nontarget effects of transgenic crops. Bioscience 54: 637–649 CrossRef
Andow, DA, Zwahlen, C (2006) Assessing environmental risks of transgenic plants. Ecol. Lett. 9: 196–214 CrossRef
Andow DA, Birch ANE, Dusi AN, Fontes EMG, Hilbeck A, Lang A, Lövei GL, Pires CSS, Sujii ER, Underwood E, Wheatley RE (2006) Non-target and biodiversity risk assessment for genetically modified (GM) crops. 9th Int. Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms, Korea
Anon (1996) Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. New Zealand Government, Wellington
Anon (2003) GMO ERA project: Impacts on non-target species and biodiversity. http://www.gmo-guidelines.info/public/science/nontarget.html
Candolfi MP, Brown K, Grimm C, Reber B, Schmidli H (2004) A faunistic approach to assess potential side-effects of genetically modified Bt-corn on non-target arthropods under field conditions. Biocontrol Sci. Technol. 14: 129–170
CBD (2003) Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Montreal, 29 January 2000): Status of ratification and entry into force. http://www.cbd.int/biosafety/signinglist.shtml
CFIA (2004) Directive 94-08: Assessment criteria for determining environmental safety of plants with novel traits. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/bio/dir/dir9408e.pdf
CFIA (undated) Biology documents: Companion documents for Directive 94-08, assessment criteria for determining environmental safety of plants with novel traits. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/bio/dir/biodoce.shtml
Chapman, S (1999) Field guide to common pests, diseases and other disorders of radiata pine in New Zealand. Forest Research Bulletin. 207: 57
Clare, GK, Ochieng'-Odero, JPR, Dalzell, SJ, Singh, P (1987) A practical rearing method for leafrollers (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). N. Z. J. Zool. 14: 597–601 CrossRef
Collier, KJ, Smith, BJ, Baillie, BR (1997) Summer light-trap catches of adult Trichoptera in hill-country catchments of contrasting land use, Waikato, New Zealand. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshwat. Res. 31: 623–634 CrossRef
Cowgill, SE, Atkinson, HJ (2003) A sequential approach to risk assessment of transgenic plants expressing protease inhibitors: effects on nontarget herbivorous insects. Transgen. Res. 12: 439–449 CrossRef
Crowe A (2002) Which New Zealand Insect? Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Auckland
DBT (1998) Revised guidelines for research in transgenic plants: Guidelines for toxicity and allergenicity evaluation of transgenic seeds, plants and plant parts. Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. http://dbtindia.nic.in/thanks/biosafetymain.html
DEFRA (2002) Draft: Deliberate release of genetically modified organisms: a guide. Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/regulation/pdf/gm-guide_draft.pdf
DGR (undated) Guidance document for use by applicant to complete the application forms for activities with genetically (living) modified organisms in South Africa. Directorate of Genetic Resources, Republic of South Africa. http://www.nda.agric.za/docs/geneticresources/guidance_document.pdf
Duan, JJ, Head, G, Jensen, A, Reed, G (2004) Effects of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis potato and conventional insecticides for Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) management on the abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods in Oregon potato ecosystems. Environ. Entomol. 33: 275–281 CrossRef
Dutton A, Romeis J, Bigler F (2002) Test procedure to evaluate the risk that insect-resistant transgenic plants pose to entomophagous arthropods. Proc. 1st Int. Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods, Hawaii
Dutton, A, Romeis, J, Bigler, F (2003) Assessing the risks of insect resistant transgenic plants on entomophagous arthropods: Bt-maize expressing Cry1Ab as a case study. BioControl 48: 611–636 CrossRef
EFSA (2005) Guidance document of the scientific panel on genetically modified organisms for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants and derived food and feed. European Food Safety Authority. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/etc/medialib/efsa/science/gmo/gmo_guidance/660.Par.0004.File.dat/guidance_docfinal1.pdf
ERMA (undated-a) Form NOCR. Application for approval to import for release or release from containment with controls any new organisms under section 38A of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. Environmental Risk Management Authority New Zealand. http://www.ermanz.govt.nz/resources/publications/pdfs/ER-AF-NOCR-1.pdf
ERMA (undated-b) ERMA New Zealand user guide to making an application to import for release or release from containment with controls any new organisms under section 38A of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. Environmental Risk Management Authority New Zealand. http://www.ermanz.govt.nz/resources/publications/pdfs/ER-UG-NOCR-1.pdf.
EU (2001) Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC. European Union. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/biotechnology/pdf/dir2001_18.pdf
Fan, M, Thongsri, T, Axe, L, Tyson, TA (2005) Using a probabilistic approach in an ecological risk assessment simulation tool: test case for depleted uranium (DU). Chemosphere 60: 111–125 CrossRef
Garcia-Alonso, M, Jacobs, E, Raybould, A, Nickson, TE, Sowig, P, Willekens, H, Van der Kouwe, P, Layton, R, Amijee, F, Fuentes, AM, Tencalla, F (2006) A tiered system for assessing the risk of genetically modified plants to non-target organisms. Environ. Biosafety Res. 5: 57–65 CrossRef
Glare TR, O'Callaghan M (2000) Bacillus thuringiensis: Biology, Ecology and Safety, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Chichester.
Grace LJ, Charity JA, Gresham B, Kay N, Walter C (2005) Insect-resistant transgenic Pinus radiata. Plant Cell Rep. 24: 103–111
Gunderson, LH (2000) Ecological resilience – in theory and application. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 31: 425–439 CrossRef
Hansen, BG, van Haelst, AG, van Leeuwen, K, van der Zandt P (1999) Priority setting for existing chemicals: European Union risk ranking method. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 18: 772–779 CrossRef
Heidorn, CJA, Rasmussen, K, Hansen, BG, Nørager, O, Allanou, R, Seynaeve, R, Scheer, S, Kappes, D, Bernasconi R (2003) IUCLID: An information management tool for existing chemicals and biocides. J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 43: 779–786 CrossRef
Henderson, AR, Walter, C (2006) Genetic engineering in conifer plantation forestry. Silvae Genet. 55: 253–262
Hilbeck A, Andow DA (2004) Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms, Volume 1: A Case Study of Bt Maize in Kenya. CABI Publishing, Wallingford
Hilbeck A, Andow DA, Fontes EMG (2006) Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms, Volume 2: Methodologies for Assessing Bt Cotton in Brazil. CABI Publishing, Wallingford
Hódar JA (1996) The use of regression equations for estimation of arthropod biomass in ecological studies. Acta Oecol. Int. J. Ecol. 17: 421–433
Holling, CS (1973) Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4: 1–23 CrossRef
Hope BK (1995) A review of models for estimating terrestrial ecological receptor exposure to chemical contaminants. Chemosphere 30: 2267–2287
Jepson, PC, Croft, BA, Pratt, GE (1994) Test systems to determine the ecological risks posed by toxin release from Bacillus thuringiensis genes in crop plants. Mol. Ecol. 3: 81–89 CrossRef
Kim, YS, Uefuji, H, Ogita, S, Sano, H (2006) Transgenic tobacco plants producing caffeine: a potential new strategy for insect pest control. Transgen. Res. 15: 667–672 CrossRef
Kough J, Vaituzis Z (1999) SAP Report No. 99-06. FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meeting, Arlington. http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/meetings/1999/december/report.pdf
Lewis PI (2002) SAP meeting minutes No. 2002-05. FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meeting, Arlington. http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/meetings/2002/august/august2002final.pdf
Lewis PI, Portier C (2000) SAP report No. 99-06A. FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meeting, Arlington. http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/meetings/1999/december/report.pdf
Lockwood, JA (1999) Agriculture and biodiversity: finding our place in this world. Agric. Human Values 16: 365–379 CrossRef
Lövei GL, Arpaia S (2005) The impact of transgenic plants on natural enemies: a critical review of laboratory studies. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 114: 1–14
Lu H, Axe L, Tyson TA (2003) Development and application of computer simulation tools for ecological risk assessment. Environ. Model. Assess. 8: 311–322
Macintosh, DL, Suter, GW, Hoffman, FO (1994) Uses of probabilistic exposure models in ecological risk assessments of contaminated sites. Risk Anal. 14: 405–419 CrossRef
Marvier M (2002) Improving risk assessment for nontarget safety of transgenic crops. Ecol. Appl. 12: 1119–1124
Meyer, E (1989) The relationship between body length parameters and dry mass in running water invertebrates. Arch. Hydrobiol. 117: 191–203
Miller D (1971) Common insects in New Zealand. A.H. & A.W. Reed Ltd, Wellington
Nute, D, Potter, WD, Maier, F, Wang, J, Twery, M, Rauscher, HM, Knopp, P, Thomasma, S, Dass, M, Uchiyama, H, Glende, A (2004) NED-2: an agent-based decision support system for forest ecosystem management. Environ. Modell. Software 19: 831–843 CrossRef
Padovani, L, Trevisan, M, Capri, E (2004) A calculation procedure to assess potential environmental risk of pesticides at the farm level. Ecol. Indic. 4: 111–123 CrossRef
Pastorok, RA, Akçakaya, HR, Regan, H, Ferson, S, Bartell, SM (2003) Role of ecological modeling in risk assessment. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. 9: 939–972 CrossRef
Pendergrast JG, Cowley DR (1969) An Introduction to New Zealand Freshwater Insects. Collins, Auckland
Pilcher, CD, Rice, ME, Obrycki, JJ (2005) Impact of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis corn and crop phenology on five nontarget arthropods. Environ. Entomol. 34: 1302–1316 CrossRef
Raybould, A (2007) Ecological versus ecotoxicological methods for assessing the environmental risks of transgenic crops. Plant Sci. 173: 589–602 CrossRef
Rogers, LE, Hinds, WT, Buschbom, RL (1976) A general weight vs. length relationship for insects. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 69: 387–389 CrossRef
Rogers, LE, Buschbom, RL, Watson, CR (1977) Length-weight relationships of shrub-steppe invertebrates. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 70: 51–53 CrossRef
Romeis J (2006) Non-target risk assessment of GM crops and regulation. GMOs in Integrated Plant Production IOBC wprs Bulletin 29: 197–200
Romeis J, Bartsch D, Bigler F, Candolfi M, Gielkens MMC, Hartley SE, Hellmich RL, Huesing JE, Jepson PC, Layton R, Quemada H, Raybould A, Rose RI, Schiemann J, Sears MK, Shelton AM, Sweet J, Vaituzis Z, Wolt JD (2006) Moving through the tiered and methodological framework for non-target arthropod risk assessment of transgenic insecticidal crops. 9th Int. Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms, Korea
Rose, RI (2006) Tier-based testing for effects of proteinaceous insecticidal plant-incorporated protectants on non-target arthropods in the context of regulatory risk assessments. GMOs in Integrated Plant Production IOBC wprs Bulletin 29: 143–150
Russom, CL, Breton, RL, Walker, JD, Bradbury, SP (2003) An overview of the use of quantitative structure-activity relationships for ranking and prioritising large chemical inventories for environmental risk assessments. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22: 1810–1821 CrossRef
SAGPYA (undated) Marco regulatorio de la biotecnología agropecuaria en la República Argentina. Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganaderia, Pesca y Alimentos. http://www.sagpya.mecon.gov.ar/new/0-0/programas/biotecnologia/marco.php.
Schmitz, G, Bartsch, D, Pretscher, P (2003) Selection of relevant non-target herbivores for monitoring the environmental effects of Bt maize pollen. Environ. Biosafety Res. 2: 117–132 CrossRef
Schoener TW(1980) Length-weight regressions in tropical and temperate forest-understory insects. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 73: 106–109
Schuler, TH, Clark, AJ, Clark, SJ, Poppy, GM, Stewart, CN, Denholm, I (2005) Laboratory studies of the effects of reduced prey choice caused by Bt plants on a predatory insect. Bull. Entomol. Res. 95: 243–247 CrossRef
Silby, RM, Akçakaya, HR, Topping, CJ, O'Connor, RJ (2005) Population-level assessment of risks of pesticides to birds and mammals in the UK. Ecotoxicol. 14: 863–876
Singh P (1985) Multiple-Species Rearing Diets. In Moore RF, Singh P, eds, Handbook of Insect Rearing, Elsevier, pp 19–44
Stacey, D, Graser, G, Mead-Briggs, M, Raybould, A (2006) Testing the impact on non-target organisms of insecticidal proteins expressed in transgenic crops. GMOs in Integrated Plant Production IOBC wprs Bulletin 29: 165–172
Stark, JD, Banks, JE, Vargas, R (2004) How risky is risk assessment: The role that life history strategies play in susceptibility of species to stress. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 732–736 CrossRef
Stoffels RJ, Karbe S, Paterson RA (2003) Length-mass models for some common New Zealand littoral-benthic macroinvertebrates, with a note on within-taxon variability in parameter values among published models. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshwat. Res. 37: 449–460
Swanson, MB, Davis, GA, Kincaid, LE, Schultz, TW, Bartmess, JE, Jones, SL, George, EL (1997) A screening method for ranking and scoring chemicals by potential human health and environmental impacts. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 16: 372–383 CrossRef
Topping, CJ, Silby, RM, Akçakaya, HR, Smith, GC, Crocker, DR (2005) Risk assessment of UK skylark populations using life-history and individual-based landscape models. Ecotoxicol. 14: 925–936 CrossRef
Towers, DJ, Henderson, IM, Veltman, CJ (1994) Predicting dry weight of New Zealand aquatic macroinvertebrates from linear dimensions. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshwat. Res. 28: 159–166 CrossRef
UKBAP (undated) UK Biodiversity Action Plan. http://www.ukbap.org.uk
USEPA (1998) Guidelines for ecological risk assessment, EPA/630/R095/002F. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Risk Assessment Forum. http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf/recordisplay.cfm?deid=12460
USEPA (2004) Pesticides: Regulating pesticides, introduction to biotechnology. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/regtools/biotech-reg-prod.htm
USEPA (2006) 2006-2011 EPA strategic plan. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/plan.htm
Van Der Werf, HMG, Zimmer, C (1998) An indicator of pesticide environmental impact based on a fuzzy expert system. Chemosphere 36: 2225–2249 CrossRef
Van Haelst, AG, Hansen, BG (2000) Priority setting for existing chemicals: automated data selection routine. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 19: 2372–2377 CrossRef
Walker, BH (1992) Biodiversity and ecological redundancy. Conserv. Biol. 6: 18–23 CrossRef
Watt JC (1982) New Zealand beetles. N. Z. Entomol. 7: 213–221
Williams, IH (2002) The EU regulatory framework for GM crops in relation to bees. Bee World 83: 24–35 CrossRef
Winterbourn MJ, Gregson KLD, Dolphin CH (2006) Guide to the Aquatic Insects of New Zealand. Entomological Society of New Zealand, Upper Hutt, pp 108
Wolt JD, Hellmich RL, Prasifka JR, Sears MK (2006) Global regulatory perspectives regarding transgenic crop risks to non-target insects: The case of Cry1F maize and butterflies. GMOs in Integrated Plant Production IOBC wprs Bulletin 29: 187–194