Toxicological assessment of pollen from different bt rice lines on Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombyxidae)

The relative toxicity of Bt rice pollen to domestic silkworm, Bombyx mori Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), was assessed by a leaf-dip bioassay under laboratory conditions. Silkworm first instars were sensitive to pollen from Bt rice lines, B1 and KMD1, but were not sensitive to pollen from Bt rice line TT9-3. First instars were 1.34-2.12 times more sensitive to B1 pollen than older instars. Bioassays of subacute toxicity under a worst-case scenario suggested that continuous exposure to a sublethal dose of B1 pollen or equivalent doses of non-Bt rice pollen affected silkworm survival and development. Young larvae were more affected by continuous exposure to Bt pollen than older larvae but less affected by non-Bt pollen. Ultrastructural observations showed that Cry proteins associated with Bt pollen were released into the larval lumen and resulted in pathological midgut changes and negative impacts on silkworm survival and development. However, considering that the sublethal dose of Bt pollen (LC15) used in this study is equivalent to the highest detected density of rice pollen on mulberry leaf under field conditions and that the likelihood of such high density of rice pollen occurring in the fields is extremely low, we suggest that the risk of Bt rice pollen on silkworm rearing is negligible.