Bt Proteins Protect Jatropha curcas Against Soybean Leaf-roller

Soybean leaf-roller (Archips micaceanus), a member of the tortrix moths, has recently been found to cause damage to Jatropha curcas, one of the lead plants in the field of biofuels. Chemical pesticides are effective against the moths and larvae but also affect non-target, beneficial insects. Previously, Bt-derived biological insecticides were proven capable of controlling other totrix moths on other crops. The effectiveness of Bt on the other tortrix moths suggests cry gene may be used to control A. micaceanus on Jatropha plants.

Transgenic Jatropha curcas expressing Cry1Ab/1Ac were generated. The gene was highly expressed in leaves of transgenic Jatropha. Insecticidal bioassays using leaf explants of the transgenes resulted in 80-100% mortality of A. micaceanus larvae, 4 days after infestation. These results reveal the effectiveness of the Cry1Ab/1Ac protein expressed in Jatropha curcas in controlling the activity to A. micaceanus. The generated transgenic J. curcas line can now be used for breeding of insect resistance to totrix moths.