Fumonisin B1 in Bt and Non-Bt maize: A Meta-analysis

摘要

Fumonisins are a class of mycotoxins that are of interest due to their occurrence in feed and food grains at concentrations which may be adverse to the health of humans and animals. The presence and mitigation of fumonisin has been a topic of widespread study, but the meta-effect of Bt maize as a method of mitigation has not been fully established in terms of the probable incidence and magnitude of mitigation achieved regionally over time.;A systematic review of agronomic data and subsequent meta-analysis were used to develop a more complete understanding of fumonisin B1 (FB1) levels regionally over several years as a means of quantifying the value of Bt maize adoption for reducing fumonisin concentrations in grain and derived foods and feeds. The magnitude and significance of the observed meta-effects were estimated for sets of meta-data representing varied degrees of statistical integrity. Variance weighted data indicated a 14% decrease in FB1 concentrations in Bt maize, whereas a replication weighted approach for the same data indicated a 67% decrease. While all analyses showed the positive effect of Bt maize to reduce FB1 concentrations in grain relative to comparable non-Bt maize, the effect size for variance-weighted data was smaller than for the less statistically robust data sets.