A few years ago in a field experiment conducted by researchers from Jena University, bees fed exclusively on Bt maize pollen were found to be more sensitive to a chance infection by the intestinal parasite Nosema than bees that ate conventional maize pollen. These indications of a potential interaction between Bt protein and the intestinal parasite Nosema have not yet been cleared up. The Würzburg scientists are now investigating the question once again in a feeding experiment and hope to obtain new findings. The results of the experiments will be ready later this year.
In other research into the learning behaviour of bees, scientists are testing whether genetically modified Bt maize can affect the learning ability of bees.
The research work is documented in a report, which includes a video clip.
About GMO Safety
The gmo-safety.eu portal provides clear information about more than 180 research projects funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) on maize, oilseed rape, potatoes, cereals and selected woody plants and trees. There are also political and scientific news stories, international studies, a ‘science live’ section with video and photo coverage, interviews and computer animations. The focus is as much on the latest findings concerning the ecological impacts of Bt maize on bees, important beneficial organisms, and soil animals and organisms, as it is on the results of new plant- breeding approaches to contain the spread of genetically modified plants. The German version of the site, bioSicherheit.de, went online in 2001 and has seen a steady rise in users ever since. Today it is one of the most popular German-language sites in the area of plant biotechnology.
Contac
t Dr. Barbara Löchte
Team GMO Safety: Genius GmbH, Darmstadt; i-bio Information Biowissenschaften, Aachen
Genius GmbH - science & communication
Robert-Bosch-Str. 7
64293 Darmstadt
Phone: 06151-872-4107
E-Mail: press@gmo-safety.eu
www.gmo-safety.eu
