Dietary mechanism behind the costs associated with resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis in the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni.

ABSTRACT: Beneficial alleles that spread rapidly as an adaptation to a new environment are often associated with costs that reduce the fitness of the population in the original environment. Several species of insect pests have evolved resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins in the field, jeopardizing its future use. This has most commonly occurred through the alteration of insect midgut binding sites specific for Bt toxins. While fitness costs related to Bt resistance alleles have often been recorded, the mechanisms behind them have remained obscure. We asked whether evolved resistance to Bt alters dietary nutrient intake, and if reduced efficiency of converting ingested nutrients to body growth are associated with fitness costs and variation in susceptibility to Bt. We fed the cabbage loop

SUBMITTER: Shikano I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4149471 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature