www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Bryan S. Griffiths and colleagues from various research institutions in the
UK, France, and Denmark assessed the effects of Bt corn on the soil by
quantifying microbial and faunal numbers, October 2006.

Their article, ?Soil Microbial and Faunal Community Responses to Bt Maize
and Insecticide in Two Soils? is published in a recent issue of the Journal
of Environmental Quality.

The team assessed the effects of Bt maize and an insecticide on soil and
microbial faunal communities in sandy loam and clay loam soils, in order to
compare results between soil in glasshouse conditions and in the field. Bt
corn plants were grown in both soils, and half of the plants were sprayed
with a pyrethroid insecticide.

After quantifying microbial and faunal communities, the researchers found
that:

1) the main effect on all measured parameters was that of soil type, and
there were no effects of the Bt trait or the insecticide on plant growth;

2) Soil grown with Bt maize had more soil nematodes and protozoa;

3) there were no significant differences in soil phospholipid fatty acid
content as a result of the Bt trait or insecticide applications;

4) and there were no effects of insecticide application on the amounts of Bt
protein detected in soil. The researchers also observed that plants treated
with insecticide had higher concentrations of the Bt toxin than untreated
plants in some instances, a finding which, they said, may warrant further
investigation.

Subscribers to the journal can read the complete article at:

[jeq.scijournals.org] or

[dx.doi.org]

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