Using transgenic plants without employing other IPM methods may increase a pest's

Using transgenic plants without employing other IPM methods may increase a pest's

• A. Resistance to the inserted genes
• B. Reproductive rate
• C. Virulence
• D. Survival under drought

Answer: (A)

Exposing pests to a transgenic plant that consistently produces a toxin creates strong selective pressure. Most pests don’t have the ability to survive the toxin, but a few individuals with natural resistance do. Those survivors live longer, reproduce, and pass the resistance genes to their offspring. Over multiple generations, the population shifts toward individuals that can tolerate the toxin, meaning the pest becomes resistant to the inserted gene product (the toxin encoded by the transgene). If you rely on the transgenic trait alone and skip other IPM methods, this resistance can spread more quickly. Using IPM practices like refuges or additional control measures helps maintain susceptible pests in the population, slowing resistance development. So the effect described is an increase in the pest’s resistance to the inserted gene product. The other possibilities don’t directly reflect the evolutionary response to constant toxin exposure from transgenic plants; reproductive rate, virulence, or drought survival aren’t the immediate consequence of relying solely on the transgene for control.

Exposing pests to a transgenic plant that consistently produces a toxin creates strong selective pressure. Most pests don’t have the ability to survive the toxin, but a few individuals with natural resistance do. Those survivors live longer, reproduce, and pass the resistance genes to their offspring. Over multiple generations, the population shifts toward individuals that can tolerate the toxin, meaning the pest becomes resistant to the inserted gene product (the toxin encoded by the transgene). If you rely on the transgenic trait alone and skip other IPM methods, this resistance can spread more quickly. Using IPM practices like refuges or additional control measures helps maintain susceptible pests in the population, slowing resistance development. So the effect described is an increase in the pest’s resistance to the inserted gene product.

The other possibilities don’t directly reflect the evolutionary response to constant toxin exposure from transgenic plants; reproductive rate, virulence, or drought survival aren’t the immediate consequence of relying solely on the transgene for control.