Scientists Discover Genetic Basis of Pest Resistance to Biotech Cotton
May 21, 2014| |
An international team of researchers led by University of Arizona (UA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled the molecular basis in insects that evolved resistance to biotech cotton plants. The results of the study are published in PLOS ONE on May 19.
"Many mechanisms of resistance to Bt proteins have been proposed and studied in the lab, but this is the first analysis of the molecular genetic basis of severe pest resistance to a Bt crop in the field," said Bruce Tabashnik, one of the authors of the study and the head of the Department of Entomology in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The researchers compared cadherin gene in the pink bollworms from Arizona and India. They found an astounding diversity of cadherin in pink bollworms from India caused by alternative splicing, a novel mechanism of resistance that allows a single DNA sequence to code for many variants of a protein. This is the first report of alternative splicing linked with field-evolved Bt resistance.
Read more information at http://uanews.org/story/scientists-discover-genetic-basis-of-pest-resistance-to-biotech-cotton. Read the research article at http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0097900.
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- ISAAA Infomercial: Biotech Crop Adoption in 2013
- Scientists Discover Genetic Basis of Pest Resistance to Biotech Cotton
- OFAB Recommends Forum to Champion Biotech in Africa
- ABNE Conducts Consultative Workshop on the Revised Togo Biosafety Law
- Researchers Alter Ethylene Production in Corn to Combat Drought Stress
- Capacity Building Workshop on the Nagoya Protocol for the Caribbean
- New Mobile App for Corn Rootworm Risk Assessment
- Chinese Scientists Crack Genome of Tree Cotton
- Vietnam Officials Highlight Need for Funds to Advance Agriculture
- Vietnam PM Declares Science and Technology Day
-
Research Highlights
- Effect of Agrobacterium-derived Cytokinin on Nicotiana benthamiana Cells
- OsCPK9 Overexpression Improves Spikelet Fertility and Abiotic Stress Resistance
- Rhizospheric Bacteria Isolate EA105 Inhibits Blast Infections in Rice
- The Post-Germinative Role of the Maize Gene Emp4
- Arabidopsis Overexpressing the CaMBPF1 Gene has Reduced Abiotic Stress Tolerance
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- WHO: Antibiotic Resistance Has Gone Global
- Experts Confirm Origin of Yeasts that Make Cold Beer
- Termite Genome Explains Details of Their Caste System
-
Announcements
- BIO Latin America Conference
- European Biotech Week
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 30, 2025)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 30, 2025)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet