rapid evolution – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Biotech Crops vs. Pests: Successes, Failures from the First Billion Acres

By Guest PostJune 11, 2013Environmentbacillus thuringiensis, bacterium, Beijing, biotech crops, bruce tabashnik, bt, bt crop acreage, bt toxins, cirad, epa, evolutionary theory, france, global assessment, insecticidal proteins, kongming wu, million hectares, organic farmers, pest resistance, pests, pink bollworm caterpillar, rapid evolution, resistance in pests, sprays, thierry brevault, university of arizona, world, yves carriere

A new global assessment helps scientists explain why genetically modified crops have suppressed some pests for longer than a decade, while others adapted in a few years.

Since 1996, farmers worldwide have planted more than 1 billion acres (400 million hectares) of genetically modified corn and cotton that produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt for short.

Bt proteins, used for decades in sprays by organic farmers, kill some devastating pests but are considered environmentally friendly and harmless to people. However, some scientists feared that widespread use of these proteins in genetically modified crops would spur rapid evolution of resistance in pests. (more…)

Frogs Use Calls to Find Mates with Matching Chromosomes, University of Missouri Researchers Find

*Tree frogs that look similar hear chromosome difference in calls; offers new insight to frog evolution*

Columbia, MO – When it comes to love songs, female tree frogs are pretty picky. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, certain female tree frogs may be remarkably attuned to the songs of mates who share the same number of chromosomes as they do. The discovery offers insight into how new frog species may have evolved.

Carl Gerhardt, Curators Professor of Biological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science and doctoral student Mitch Tucker studied two closely related species of grey tree frogs that live in Missouri, the eastern grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor) and the Cope’s grey tree frog (H. chrysoscelis). (more…)

Tag Archives: rapid evolution

Biotech Crops vs. Pests: Successes, Failures from the First Billion Acres

Frogs Use Calls to Find Mates with Matching Chromosomes, University of Missouri Researchers Find