Resistance to <I>Tecia solanivora</I> (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Three Transgenic Andean Varieties of Potato Expressing <I>Bacillus thuringiensis</I> Cry1Ac Protein

Abstract

Transgenic potato, Solanum tuberosum L., plants containing a synthetic cry1Ac gene coding for the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystalline insecticidal protein were produced and evaluated for resistance to Tecia solanivora Povolny (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), the larvae of which attack potato tubers. In total, 43 transgenic lines of commercial Andean potato varieties Diacol Capiro, Pardo Pastusa, and Pandeazúcar were obtained. These transgenic lines were found to have one to four copies of cry1Ac per genome and expression levels of Cry1Ac protein varying from 0.02 to 17 microg/g fresh tuber tissue. Bioassays of T. solanivora larvae on these transgenic potato tubers showed 83.7-100% mortality, whereas the mortality levels on nontransgenic lines were 0-2.67%. Our data indicate the capability of Bt transgenic technology to control the T. solanivora while reducing the use of chemical insecticides. Further studies under controlled field conditions will be helpful in exploring the potential of CrylAc potatoes in the insect pest management strategies.

Selection and characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis isolates with a high insecticidal activity against Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

“…Thus, new Bt isolates represent a source of new toxin genes with the potential to be introduced into the genome of plants of economic interest. Currently, numerous studies have been reported in several transgenic plants containing the cry genes of Bt, such as potato (VALDERRAMA et al, 2007;KUMAR et al, 2010), tomato (LI et al, 2007), cotton (WU et al, 2005), rice (YE et al, 2003;YOUNG-JUN et al, 2004;GAO et al, 2010), corn (BELTAGI, 2008) and soybean (WALKER et al, 2000). Bt containing transgenic crop plants covered over 179,7 million hectares (corn, soybeans, cotton and potatoes) in worldwide and the highest increase was in Brazil, with 2 million hectares (James, 2015), this signifies the importance of this technology in controlling insect pests (ZHAO et al, 2005).…”

Foreign cry1Ac gene integration and endogenous borer stress-related genes synergistically improve insect resistance in sugarcane

“…To date, the cry gene has been effectively used to control stem-borer pests in many crops, including rice ( Oryza sativa ) [9], corn ( Zea mays ) [10], cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) [11], potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) [12] and soybean ( Glycine max ) [13], which have widespread commercial applications and verified safety [14–16]. There is an urgent need for borer resistance traits, and a series of studies that introduced the cry gene into sugarcane successfully obtained insect-resistant sugarcane lines [1, 4, 17–19].…”

Development and Characterization of Transgenic Sugarcane with Insect Resistance and Herbicide Tolerance

“…In 2010, about 83% of the 148 million ha land dedicated for genetically modified crops was planted with herbicide-tolerant species ( James, 2010 ; Bonny, 2011 ). Introduction of insect-resistant genes, such as Bt genes, is an effective and economic strategy used to improve the resistance of various crops to insects ( Dutton et al, 2003 ; Torres and Ruberson, 2006 ; Valderrama et al, 2007 ; Gatehouse, 2008 ; Srikanth et al, 2011 ; Karthikeyan et al, 2012 ). Currently, commercially grown GM crops contain genes related to insect resistance and herbicide tolerance, which are valuable traits in production of major crops, such as corn and cotton.…”