What is the evidence on the inheritance of resistance alleles in populations of lepidopteran/coleopteran maize pest species: a systematic map protocol

Background: Lepidopteran and coleopteran species are the most important insect pests in maize. These pests can be controlled by the cultivation of genetically modified crops expressing insecticidal Bt-proteins. The long term success of this technology demands resistance management strategies to delay the evolution of resistance. The most efficient delay in resistance evolution can be expected if the inheritance of resistance is completely recessive. Therefore this information is important to predict the potential to evolve resistance of a pest/crop system. Methods: Our review will take the form of an evidence map. Different databases will be used to collect as much data as possible to have a broad data basis to model and assess the potential for evolution of resistance of different crop-Bt-protein-species combinations. All identified articles will be recorded in a database. Relevant studies will be identified in a three step approach based on inclusion criteria. The systematic map output will be provided in a database. The database will be easily searchable and freely accessible. Additionally the data will be summarized in a narrative report.