Schmid

Fakultäten » Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät » Evolutionsbiologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Institut für » Ecology & Environment » Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schmid » Schmid

Current research project

Title / Titel	Non-target effects of GM plants on insect food webs
PDF	Abstract (PDF, 14 KB)
Summary / Zusammenfassung	The proposed project is part of the “Wheat Cluster”, which will conduct field experiments with selected genetically modified (GM) spring wheat lines with enhanced resistance to powdery mildew (Pm3- and glucanase/chitinase-transgenic wheat). We will investigate the effects of the GM wheat plants on insect herbivores and associated food webs, as well as effects on two groups of symbionts: fungal endophytes of plants and bacterial endosymbionts of aphids. We hypothesise that alterations in the metabolism of GM wheat plants could affect the feeding behaviour, growth, fitness and symbiotic associations of insect herbivores and their natural enemies (primary and secondary consumers). We propose to investigate our hypothesis in the field, in an open glasshouse and in conventional glasshouses and climate chambers. The open glasshouse allows growing GM wheat under environmental conditions that are close to a field situation but simultaneously maintain a high level of biological containment. Research Goals • To assess the impact of transgenic disease-resistant wheat plants on plant-dwelling insect herbivores • To assess the impact of transgenic disease-resistant wheat plants on arthropod food webs • To assess detailed mechanisms of aphid food web changes on transgenic disease-resistant wheat plants • To investigate changes in endophyte associations of the transgenic wheat plants • To test aphids and their associated endosymbionts as indicators for potential changes in plant metabolism as a consequence of transgene expression • To characterise the open glasshouse system at Agroscope ART for research of annual transgenic plants • To develop a non-target risk assessment framework for non-insecticidal transgenic plants
Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte	Prof Bernhard Schmid (Project Leader) bschmid@uwinst.uzh.ch Dr Jörg Romeis joerg.romeis@art.admin.ch Simone von Burg simone.vonburg@uwinst.uzh.ch
Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch	SNF (Programm NFP)
In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit	Wheat Consortium
Duration of Project / Projektdauer	Mar 2007 to Dec 2012