2005 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a reimbursable agreement between ARS and the Environmental Protection Agency. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project #3625-22000-015-00D, Ecologically-Based Management of Selected Insects Associated with Corn. The purpose of this agreement is to contribute to a scientific information framework for managing insect resistance to transgenic plants. This information can provide enhanced support to the public in its deliberations about the use of transgenic plants. This will include an evaluation and integration of insect resistance models; evaluation and standardization of methods to detect insect resistance; and “proof of concept” studies to determine whether remote sensing could be a tool to assess insect damage in corn. Contributions to the modeling component will be made by scientists from Brigham Young University, the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Minnesota, Mississippi State University, the University of Arizona, and North Carolina State University. A second project meeting was held in Salt Lake City, in November 2004, in conjunction with the Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Participating modelers had developed mathematical simulations of insects developing resistance to transgenic crops based on the life cycle and behavioral characteristics of the insect pests that are unique to the growing conditions and cropping practices of the modeled region. In order to establish a set of specific procedures for comparing model results, meeting participants identified a limited set of models representing the range of pest, crop, and landscape scenarios where transgenic crops are used. Computer simulation models of insect resistance were obtained from Brigham Young University (North Carolina State), the University of Arizona, and the University of Illinois. These models represent regions of the U.S. where transgenic cotton and corn crops are widely used to control either moth or beetle pests. Landscape configurations for the distribution of transgenic crops were defined to minimize the behavioral and life-cycle differences of the pests as described in the models. These configurations are used as model inputs allowing comparison of output between agricultural and pest systems. All models are being run at the University of Illinois in collaboration with the original developer of each model. Model results from these simplified scenarios are being compared to theoretical expectations for the genetic change that occurs in an insect population when pest control practices are implemented. Evaluations are ongoing focusing on how insect behavioral differences affect the development of resistance and how landscape configurations can minimize the risk of insects developing resistance to transgenic crops. Contributions to the monitoring component will be made by scientists from the University of Nebraska and the University of Minnesota. This will include evaluation and standardization of methods to detect insect resistance. Laboratory selected strains of European corn borer have been developed that exhibit high levels of resistance to the Cry1Ab toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Inheritance of resistance has been identified and the biochemical and molecular basis of resistance in these strains is emerging. Diagnostic concentrations of Cry1Ab necessary for discriminating genotypes have been identified. Crosses have been made and families bioassayed on diagnostic doses for use in a genetic mapping project. This information will be used in the development of standardized methods to be used in resistance monitoring. Standardized protocols are currently being written that describe both diagnostic bioassays and the F2 screening procedure. Quantitative methods for determining the concentration of Cry toxin preparations are currently in development. A detailed manual that provides Bt stakeholders with protocols to perform F2 screens for insecticide resistance monitoring has been compiled. This information will be used in the development of standardized methods to be used in resistance monitoring. Standardized protocols will provide the EPA quality assurance in resistance monitoring data provided by multiple laboratories. Contributions to the remote-sensing component will be made by scientists from Pennsylvania State University, the University of Nebraska, and the University of Illinois. Remote-sensing studies were conducted with Bt and non-Bt corn plots in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska during 2004 and are ongoing for the 2005 field season. Hyperspectral bands of reflected radiation from vegetation and ground were measured seven times over the 2004 growing season with an aircraft-mounted hyperspectral imaging push-broom scanner. Treatments included Bt and non-Bt corn hybrids, some of which were infested with European corn borer neonates during V8-V10 or silking stages. Preliminary results suggest that specific spectral bands can distinguish plots with European corn borer damage from those that were undamaged. Reflectance images from different hybrids also were distinguishable, but these differences varied with crop phenology. All participants attended a workshop in Cincinnati, OH (April 2005) on remote-sensing methodologies. Presentations were made by a representative from the Institute of Technology Development (Champaign, IL); preliminary results from 2004 were discussed; and plans were made for the 2005 field season.