Impact of transgenic insect-resistant maize HGK60 with Cry1Ah gene on community components and biodiversity of arthropods in the fields

Hymenoptera, 1 family (2.50%) and 2 species (1.61%) of Odonata, and 3 family (7.50%) and 12 species (9.68%) of Araneae (Table 1). Comparing the number of arthropods in the field for the same growth period, the number of Lepidoptera arthropods of HGK60 was still higher than that of Z58 in each growth, and the number of other arthropods was similarly between HGK60 and Z58 (S2 Table). The arthropod community was statistically analyzed and classified according to feeding habits, as there were different types of feeding habits within the same arthropod taxonomic unit. The number of species and individuals of arthropods with different feeding habits on HGK60 and Z58 are shown in Fig 1. The comparison results of the phytophagous group, pred- atory group and parasitic group revealed no significant difference between the two kinds of maize in the number of species and individuals in each growth period of two years. And the number of individuals of them increased with the growth period. For the neutral groups, there was no significant difference between the two kinds of maize in the number of species in each growth period. But the number of individuals of HGK60 was significantly higher than that of Z58 at heading stage in 2019. Further results showed that the species number in the herbivorous group accounted for the largest proportion of the arthropod community in the fields of both kinds of maize. In con- trast, the neutral group comprised the smallest number of species during the two sampling years. The results showed that the number of individuals in each group was: herbivorous

group > predatory group > parasitic group > neutral group. On the other hand, the percent- ages of individual number and species number in four groups were basically the same in the two kinds of maize at each stage in 2019 and 2020 (Fig 2). 3.2 Impacts of maize type on diversity indexes of the arthropod community The Richness index (Dmg), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H), Dominance index (D) and Evenness index (J) were used to determine the diversity characteristics of the arthropod com- munities in the HGK60 and Z58 maize plots (Fig 3). Comparing the richness index of arthro- pod community between HGK60 and Z58, the result showed no significant difference (P> 0.05) between HGK60 and Z58 in the 2-year experiment. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H) and Dominance index (D) of arthropod communities in different plots showed that there was no significant difference between HGK60 and Z58 in each growth period in the 2-year experiment. The Evenness index (J) of arthropod communities in different plots showed similar values, ranging from 1.89 to 2.11, that in the HGK60 and Z58 maize plots Table 1. Community composition of arthropods in the maize fields. Orders Families Percentage % Species Percentage % Lepidoptera 4 10.00 12 9.68 Hemiptera 6 15.00 19 15.32 Homoptera 4 10.00 22 17.74 Orthoptera 3 7.50 9 7.26 Neuroptera 1 2.50 4 3.23 Coleoptera 3 7.50 12 9.68 Thysanoptera 1 2.50 2 1.61 Diptera 6 15.00 16 12.90 Hymenoptera 8 20.00 14 11.29 Odonata 1 2.50 2 1.61 Araneae 3 7.50 12 9.68 Total 40 - 124 -

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269459.t001 PLOS ONE Impact of transgenic insect-resistant maize HGK60 with Cry1Ah gene PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269459 June 3, 2022 5 / 13