Pests adapting to genetically modified crops - anyone surprised?

This report Trouble On the Horizon for Genetically Modified Crops? in ScienceDaily (June 20, 2012), my quick window to what is happening in the world of science, is a report on the way "pests" are adapting to genetically modified crops. The specific work relates to toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis ...

To decrease sprays of broad-spectrum insecticides, which can harm animals other than the target pests, cotton and corn have been genetically engineered to produce toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt.

... to control pests. But then ...

Over time, scientists have learned, initially rare genetic mutations that confer resistance to Bt toxins are becoming more common as a growing number of pest populations adapt to Bt crops.

Bruce Tabashnik, who is the head of the department of entomology at the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, says this is an early warning to farmers and throws some doubt on the assumption about whether what what they learn from developing lab-selected resistance, will apply equally in the field.

So I wonder if this means that at least to some extent, the field becomes the lab - and, are we surprised?

They found some resistance-conferring mutations in the field were the same as in lab-reared pests, but some others were strikingly different.

Now it is these different ones that concern me. Where will this lead? And when will we need to genetically modify genetically modified crops to ...

stay ahead of the game

... as he says. Anyone else concerned? Are we not just educating "pests" and making them more smart and versatile. Can we really stay ahead of Nature?

Moved to Fragile Earth
Sorry pardon

reply to post by KenArten


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