Susceptibility of Fall Armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E.) from Mexico and Puerto Rico to Bt Proteins

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Fall armyworms from Mexico are susceptible to four Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins, while those from Puerto Rico have field-evolved resistance to Cry1F and Cry1Ac and are susceptible to Cry2Ab2 and Cry1A.105. Implications for fall armyworm management are discussed. ABSTRACT: Fall armyworm is one of the main pests of conventional and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn in many countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia and in Australia. We conducted diet-overlay bioassays to determine the status of susceptibility to four Bt proteins (Cry1A.105, Cry2Ab2, Cry1F and Cry1Ac) in three different populations of fall armyworm from Mexico, and one population from Puerto Rico. Bioassays showed that fall armyworms from Puerto Rico were resistant to Cry1F with a resistance ratio (50) (RR(50)) higher than 10,000 ng/cm(2) and to Cry1Ac with a RR(50) = 12.2 ng/cm(2), displaying the highest median lethal concentration (LC(50)) values to all Bt proteins tested. The effective concentration (50) (EC(50)) values further confirmed the loss of susceptibility to Cry1F and Cry1Ac in this population. However, LC(50) and EC(50) results with Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 revealed that fall armyworm from Puerto Rico remained largely susceptible to these two proteins. The Mexican populations were highly susceptible to all the Bt proteins tested and displayed the lowest LC(50) and EC(50) values to all Bt proteins. Our results suggest that Cry1F and Cry1Ac resistance is stable in fall armyworm from Puerto Rico. However, this population remains susceptible to Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2. Results with Mexican fall armyworms suggest that possible deployment of Bt corn in Mexico will not be immediately challenged by Bt-resistant genes in those regions.