Bees are not endangered by GM corn

Study: According to a study, bees are not endangered by GM corn

05/04/2013

Genetic engineering changes are designed to protect plants from pests. However, many are critical of this and fear diseases of bees when they pick up pollen from so-called GM corn. The results of years of research have now shown that there is no danger to the insects.

Beekeepers fear damage
Beekeepers were worried that genetically modified maize would cause harm to their bees. GM maize repeatedly comes under public scrutiny. Among other things, the Institute for Independent Risk and Accompanying Biotechnology Research, Testbiotech e.V., warned of potential risks to health and the environment. The Thünen Institute gave the all-clear and said that at least the so-called Bt maize does not affect bees negatively. In collaboration with the University of Würzburg, the Federal Research Institute investigated the effect of GM corn pollen (Bt maize) on honey bees during a field trial from 2008 to 2010.

The study looked at different groups during maize flowering. Some were kept in flight cages with GM maize and the others with two conventionally grown maize varieties. As a fourth group free-flying bees were used for comparison. The investigation was directed to the nurse bees, which absorb a lot of pollen for the rearing of bee larvae. According to the researchers, the genetically modified corn "did not affect either the survival rate or the body weight of the animals, nor did the efficiency with which maize pollen was digested.".

Enormous importance for the agricultural economy
„We found only slight differences in the diversity of the intestinal bacteria, "said Christoph Tebbe of the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig, although the differences were independent of which pollen the bees had taken, that of GM maize or conventional varieties This is good news for beekeepers and farmers can also breathe a sigh of relief, as biologist Tebbe explained in an interview with "ZEIT ONLINE": „Bees are of enormous importance to the agricultural economy. This is often underestimated. Many believe that they are necessary for honey production alone. Much more important, however, is that they act as pollinators in orchards, for example. As bee populations decline, this not only has consequences for beekeepers, but also for agriculture.“

Financed by the federal government and the EU
The used Bt maize is a genetically modified variety that forms three insect-damaging proteins or proteins. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) naturally forms such insecticidal proteins. The plant is protected against pests such as corn rootworm or corn borer, without the use of chemical insecticides. The German Federal Ministry of Research and the EU initiative Amiga had funded the project. In the online journal „Plos one“ the study results were published. The researchers from Würzburg had already shown in another study in 2012 that Bt maize has no negative effects on the development of bee larvae. Also suitable for this is the following report: Pesticides cause of bee mortality. (Ad)

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Picture: ajking