PLANT RESISTANCE Relative Concentration of Cry1A in Maize Leaves and Cotton Bolls with Diverse Chlorophyll Content and Corresponding Larval Development of Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Southwestern Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on Maize Whorl Leaf Profiles

Tomanage insect resistance to transgenic crops that express insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Berliner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends a refugebased insect resistance management strategy where a percentage of non-Bt (refuge) crop is grown in proximity to a Bt-expressing crop. An important requirement for this strategy is that the toxin exists at a high effective dose for control of the target pest(s), so that heterozygous individuals in the population do not reach adulthood. Factors that cause reduced levels of toxin in the plant are a threat to this strategy.We quantiÞed Cry1Ab from different areas of the maize, Zea mays L., leaf. In general, the distal tip of the V7 maize leaf had a higher concentration of Cry1Ab compared with the middle section of the V7 leaf, and the middle section of the developing V9 leaf had the lowest concentration ofCry1Ab.When these sections ofmaize tissuewere fed to fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), and southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, there was not a reduction in development or an increase in mortality with tissue that had higher concentrations of toxin. Another study tested the relative concentration ofCry1Abbetween thewhite-yellow, yellow-green, and green portions of the developing ninth leaf within the maize whorl. There were differences in Cry1Ab concentration among these leaf areas. Thegreen tissuehad thehighest concentrationof toxin followed by the yellow-green andwhite-yellow tissues. Correlations between concentration of Cry1Ab and 5-d fall armyworm larval weights among the three leaf color proÞles were all signiÞcant and negative, i.e., decreased concentration of Cry1Ab in the leaf tissue resulted in increased 5-d larval weights. There was 100% mortality to the southwestern corn borer larvae fed Cry1Ab maize leaf tissue. Differences in the amount of Cry1Ab in the developing V9 leaf proÞles did not alter the absolute susceptibility of the southwestern corn borer to the toxin. In cotton,Gossypium hirsutum L., the amount of Cry1Ac was signiÞcantly lower in boll tips where ßowers had remained attached compared with normal boll tips.Boll tipswhere theßowers remainedattachedareoften the sitewherecornearworms,Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), penetrate Bt cotton bolls. This study demonstrated that, in two diverse plant species, tissue that has low chlorophyll content does not fully expressCry1A. Photosynthesis regulating factors related tomRNA transcription and translation should be studied for their effect on Cry1A production and insect control.