Biotech Updates

Cry10Aa Gene Confers Resistance to Cotton Boll Weevil in Transgenic Cotton

March 8, 2017

Researchers from Embrapa Genetic Resources and Bioechnology in Brazil, led by Dr. Maria Fatima Grossi-de-Sa, were successful in developing GM cotton with high resistance to cotton bollworm (CBW) conferred by Cry10Aa, a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

The team designed a transformation vector harboring the cry10Aa gene driven by the cotton promoter uceA1.7 and introduced it into a Brazilian cotton cultivar via biolistic transformation. Assays revealed high transcription levels of cry10Aa in both T0 GM cotton leaf and flower bud tissues. An analysis also revealed that T0 GM plants had either one or two transgene copies.

CBW susceptibility bioassays demonstrated a significant insecticidal effect and a high level of CBW mortality. Molecular analysis revealed that transgene stability and insecticidal effect on CBW were maintained in T1 generation, with the Cry10Aa toxin expression levels remaining high in tissues.

For more on this study, read the article in Plant Biotechnology Journal.