Example 2: Pyramiding Bt toxins: effects on pest populations?

Bt cotton, corn and potatoes first planted in 1996; by 2006, Bt corn and cotton on 32 million ha. worldwide

Development of Bt resistance

Risk factors for pest populations evolving Bt resistance

Bt resistance

Managing Bt resistance

Managing Bt resistance

Slide 8

“High dose plus refugia”

High-dose plus refugia

Why does adding susceptible plants (refuges) slow evolution of Bt resistance?

Slide 12

Fitness (ω)

What does this mean?

Managing Bt resistance

Slide 16

Bt pyramids should have different modes of action to minimize cross-resistance

Common ideas – HF and Bt

Dogma: gene pyramids work because of low probability of mutation to multiple virulence

Mundt’s critique:

Slide 21

Probabilities hypothesis requires the assumption that virulence mutations at different loci are independent, yet there are several mechanisms for attaining simultaneous changes to virulence at different loci

Is it worthwhile pyramiding resistances that are already partially or completely defeated?

Kousik and Ritchie, Phytopathology, 1999, 89:1066-1072:

Pyramiding multiple QTL for disease resistance