Assessing effects of transgenic Cry1Ac cotton on the earthworm Eisenia fetida

Transgenic insect-resistant cotton containing a synthetic version of the insecticidal toxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki has been planted in China in a large scale and may have adverse impacts on soil organisms. The leaves of the transgenic cotton and the non-transgenic parental cotton were collected and their impacts on the earthworm, Eisenia fetida, were tested in laboratory studies. No significant acute toxicity on E. fetida from oral exposure to the transgenic cotton line, GK19, was detected. The average weight, numbers of cocoons and new offsprings of E. fetida in the GK19 groups were all higher than in the Simian3 groups, but the differences were not significant.