Journal of Entomological Science (2005) 40, 206-210

Yu Cheng Zhu and John J. Adamczyk Jr. (2005)
Polymerase chain reaction detection of the modified cry1Ac gene in transgenic Bt (Bollgard®) cotton
Journal of Entomological Science 40 (2), 206-210
Abstract: Transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) containing a modified cry1Ac gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner has been widely adopted for suppression of lepidopterous pests. As of 2004, over 90% of the cotton acreage in the mid-southern United States contained this modified cry1Ac gene. We developed a technique using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for routine detection of the cry1Ac gene in transgenic cotton plants. A total of eight cry1Ac genes were aligned for the PCR primer design. A DNA fragment was amplified from transgenic cotton, sequenced, and confirmed to be a portion of the cry1Ac gene. A total of 150 cotton plants representing four cultivars were examined for the presence of the cry1Ac gene. Results demonstrated that all of these cotton plants harbored the cry1Ac gene (i.e., 100% purity). This PCR technique can be used for future studies involving the expression of cry1Ac gene as well as corresponding protein expression.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation
identification/taxonomy

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Bacillus thuringiensis genes in crops (entomopathogen)			U.S.A. (mid S)
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A-toxin (entomopathogen)			U.S.A. (mid S)