Transformation of Cabbage Using Bt cry1Ba3

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) is considered as one of the most important vegetables globally. However, just like other crops, pests like diamondback moth attack cabbage resulting to decrease in yield. This led Yi Deng-xia and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to develop a transgenic line of cabbage with broad insect resistance.

The research team introduced a new synthetic Bacillus thuringiensis cry1Ba3 gene from Bt strain UV17 to white cabbage through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation, producing 37 transformants. They confirmed the success of the transformation through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analyses. The expression of the Bt gene was also confirmed through reverse transcription PCR. Production of the novel protein was checked though Western blot.

The team conducted insect bioassays and results showed that the biotech cabbages can control both susceptible and Cry1Ac-resistance diamondback moth larvae.

Read the complete article at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1671292711601673.