Appropriate Analytical Methods are Necessary to Assess Non-target Effects of Insecticidal Proteins in GM Crops Through Meta-Analysis (response to Andow et al.): Letter to the Editor

Authors: SHELTON, ANTHONY - Cornell University; Naranjo, Steven; ROMEIS, JORG - University Of Zurich; Hellmich Ii, Richard; WOLT, JEFFREY - Iowa State University; FEDERICI, BRIAN - University Of California; ALBAJES, RAMON - Universitat De Lleida; BIGLER, FRANZ - University Of Zurich; BURGESS, ELISABETH - Auckland University Of Technology; DIVELY, GALEN - University Of Maryland; GATEHOUSE, ANGHARAD - Newcastle University; MALONE, LOUISE - New Zealand Horticulture Research; ROUSH, RICHARD - University Of Melbourne; SEARS, MARK - University Of Guelph; SEHNAL, FRANTISEK - Biology Centre Of The Ascr Of The Czech Republic, Vvi; FERRY, NATALIE - University Of Newcastle; BELL, HOWARD - The Food And Environment Research Agency

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/18/2009
Publication Date: 12/18/2009
Citation: Shelton, A.M., Naranjo, S.E., Romeis, J., Hellmich Ii, R.L., Wolt, J.D., Federici, B.A., Albajes, R., Bigler, F., Burgess, E., Dively, G., Gatehouse, A.M., Malone, L.A., Roush, R., Sears, M., Sehnal, F., Ferry, N., Bell, H. Appropriate Analytical Methods are Necessary to Assess Non-target Effects of Insecticidal Proteins in GM Crops Through Meta-Analysis (response to Andow et al.): Letter to the Editor. Environmental Entomology. (38)6: 1533-1538 2009.

Interpretive Summary: There has been an on-going debate over an article published in Environmental Entomology by Lovei et al. (Transgenic Insecticidal Crops and Natural Enemies: A Detailed Review of Laboratory Studies). A rebuttal letter was published in Transgenic Research and Lovei et al. have responded to our letter. Environmental Entomology has allowed us to respond to this letter. The non-target effects of transgenic insecticidal crops has been a topic of debate for over a decade and many laboratory and field studies have addressed the issue in numerous countries. The original article attempted to summarize and interpret laboratory studies of toxicity of transgenic plants on natural enemies. This current letter provides a detailed response and re-emphasizes three serious limitations of the original study: 1) failure to recognize the critical role of prey-mediated effects on natural enemies which are independent of the toxins presented, 2) the use of inappropriate statistical methods in analyzing the data including the use of non-independent data and analytical methods that fail to take advantage of the statistical power provided by meta-analyses, and 3) failure to recognize the ecological relevance of the results of laboratory studies to populations of natural enemies and their biological control function in the field. We agree that environmental risk assessments of transgenic insect-resistant crops are critical, and that proper methods will be required to assess extant studies.

Technical Abstract: There has been an on-going debate over an article published in Environmental Entomology by Lovei et al. (Transgenic Insecticidal Crops and Natural Enemies: A Detailed Review of Laboratory Studies). A rebuttal letter was published in Transgenic Research and Lovei et al. have responded to our letter. Environmental Entomology has allowed us to respond to this letter. The non-target effects of transgenic insecticidal crops has been a topic of debate for over a decade and many laboratory and field studies have addressed the issue in numerous countries. The original article attempted to summarize and interpret laboratory studies of toxicity of transgenic plants on natural enemies. This current letter provides a detailed response and re-emphasizes three serious limitations of the original study: 1) failure to recognize the critical role of prey-mediated effects on natural enemies which are independent of the toxins presented, 2) the use of inappropriate statistical methods in analyzing the data including the use of non-independent data and analytical methods that fail to take advantage of the statistical power provided by meta-analyses, and 3) failure to recognize the ecological relevance of the results of laboratory studies to populations of natural enemies and their biological control function in the field. We agree that environmental risk assessments of transgenic insect-resistant crops are critical, and that proper methods will be required to assess extant studies.