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Insects and Bacteria Appear to Team Up Against a Pesticide

question 6

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Insects and bacteria appear to team up against a pesticide that is commonly sprayed on crops. The bean bug Riptortus pedestris is a common soybean pest and in a recent study was shown to acquire resistance to a common insecticide. This resistance is related to the presence of bacteria ( Burkholderia sp.) living within its gut. In this mutually beneficial relationship, more than 100 million bacteria can live within the insect's gut. Evidence suggests that these bacteria are able to break down the pesticide into carbon dioxide, which is used by the bacteria, and harmless waste products are then secreted. In a recent study, researchers fed bacteria-infested bean bugs and bacteria-free bean bugs a diet of soybean seedlings that had been treated with the pesticide. Most of the bacteria-infested bean bugs survived after eating the treated soybeans, but 80 percent of the bacteria-free bean bugs died. Together, the bean bugs and the bacteria living within their gut would be considered a(n)

Definitions:

Sherman Antitrust Act

A foundational United States antitrust law aimed at maintaining market competition by preventing monopolies.

Monopolies

Market structures where a single seller dominates the market, facing no competition and controlling prices.

Standard Oil Company

A U.S. company founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1870, which became a dominant force in the American petroleum industry until it was broken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1911 due to antitrust laws.

John D. Rockefeller

An American industrialist and philanthropist who was a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company and became one of the world's wealthiest individuals and major philanthropists.