Invertebrates are important providers of ecosystem services to orchards and the orchards may benefit where there is greater biodiversity. Previous research has shown that apple orchards using organic or integrated pest management support different invertebrate communities, as can different orchards ...

On-farm biodiversity is increasingly perceived as an indicator of sustainable practices. However, in-depth examinations of the influence of management on the components of this diversity (specific taxa, feeding guilds, pests, ecosystem service providers, native taxa, and so on) are still lacking...

The transcriptional regulation of four phylogenetically distinct members of a family of Kunitz proteinase inhibitor (KPI) genes isolated from white clover (Trifolium repens; designated Tr-KPI1, Tr-KPI2, Tr-KPI4 and Tr-KPI5) has been investigated to determine their wider functional role. The four...

Future options for the control of biosecurity risk pests in New Zealand's plantation Pinus radiata forests include Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) sprays and transgenic trees expressing Bt. Potential impacts on nontarget native Lepidoptera and their natural enemies were assessed via monthly samples of...

Selection of test species for use in biosafety evaluation of genetically modified plants is challenging but important, as regulators in many jurisdictions require tests to determine the potential for adverse environmental impacts before the release of plants into the environment. This contribution...

To investigate the biosafety to insects of transgenic Pinus radiata D. Don containing the antibiotic resistance marker gene nptII and the reproductive control gene leafy, bioassays were conducted with an endemic lepidopteran pest of New Zealand plantation pine forests and a hymenopteran...

Avidin transgenic plants are a potential tool for providing resistance against various species of insect pests due to the sequestration of vitamin H (biotin) in the plant from the insect pests. In this project we compared three techniques for avidin determination in transgenic tobacco plants, a...

Regulators are acutely aware of the need for meaningful risk assessments to support decisions on the safety of GM crops to non-target invertebrates in determining their suitability for field release. We describe a process for developing appropriate, testable risk hypotheses for invertebrates in...

Biotin-binding proteins (BBPs), expressed in transgenic plants, are insecticidal to a very wide range of insects. The expression levels required are generally low (∼100 ppm), and although higher than required for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) δ-endotoxins, BBPs are effective across a broader range of ...