More than 10 years after commercialization, Vip3A-expressing MIR162 remains highly efficacious in controlling major Lepidopteran maize pests: laboratory resistance selection versus field reality

Abstract

MIR162, a maize event that expresses Vip3Aa20 (Vip3A) approved for commercial cultivation around 2010, has been excellent for control of major Lepidopteran pests. However, development of fall armyworm (FAW) resistance to Vip3A is a serious concern. Resistant colonies selected in the laboratory can serve as valuable tools not only for better understanding of Vip3A's mode of action (MOA) and mechanism of resistance (MOR) but also for screening novel leads of new MOA that will help control FAW in case resistance to Vip3A in the field becomes a reality. We selected a Vip3A-resistant FAW strain, FAW_Vip3AR, by subjecting a FAW founder population containing field genetics to Vip3A exposure. FAW_Vip3AR had >9800-fold resistance to Vip3A by diet surface overlay bioassays and resistance was stable. Feeding bioassays using detached leaf tissues or whole plants indicated that FAW_Vip3AR larvae readily fed and completed the full life cycle on Vip3A-expressing MIR162 maize plants and leaf tissues that killed 100% of susceptible larvae. Yet, FAW_Vip3AR faced at least two challenges. First, FAW_Vip3AR suffered an apparent disadvantage (incomplete resistance) when feeding on MIR162 in comparison to FAW_Vip3AR feeding on Vip3A-free isoline AX5707 maize; and second, FAW_Vip3AR showed a fitness costs in comparison to a Vip3A-susceptible strain when both fed on AX5707. We also demonstrated that, >10 years after commercialization, MIR162 and Vip3A remain highly efficacious against field populations of three major Lepidopteran pests from different geographic locations and FAW strains resistant to other Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins that are currently on the market.

Keywords: Bt toxin, lepidopteran pests; Efficacy; MIR162; Resistance selection; Vip3A.