Susceptibility of the coffee leaf miner (Perileucoptera spp.) to bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins: A model for transgenic perennial crops resistant to endocarpic insects

Binding of several Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins was studied on histological midgut sections of larvae of coffee leaf miner Perileucoptera coffeella from Brazil and Perileucoptera sp from Madagascar. CryIA(a), CryIA(b), CryIA(c), CryIB, CryIE, and CryIIA were tested for binding, and only CryIA(c), CryIB, and CryIE yielded a positive response. The toxins bound to the whole midgut, and the result was identical on both insect populations. The same toxins, to the number of which CryIC was added, were tested on larvae of P. coffeella. CryIA(c) and CryIB were toxic with an LC50 of 1.47 &mgr;g/ml and 21.93 &mgr;g/ml, respectively. CryIE was not toxic to P. coffeella. CryIA(c) and CryIB were tested for synergistic activity and were shown to act by cumulative effect when delivered to the insect larvae as a mixture.