Pest Management Science (2016) 72, 1549-1557

Carliane R.C. Silva, Rose Monnerat, Liziane M. Lima, Érica S. Martins, Péricles A. Melo Filho, Morganna P.N. Pinheiro and Roseane C. Santos (2016)
Stable integration and expression of a cry1Ia gene conferring resistance to fall armyworm and boll weevil in cotton plants
Pest Management Science 72 (8), 1549-1557
Abstract:
BACKGROUND
Boll weevil is a serious pest of cotton crop. Effective control involves applications of chemical insecticides, increasing the cost of production and environmental pollution. The current genetically modified Bt crops have allowed great benefits to farmers but show activity limited to lepidopteran pests. This work reports on procedures adopted for integration and expression of a cry transgene conferring resistance to boll weevil and fall armyworm by using molecular tools.
RESULTS
Four Brazilian cotton cultivars were microinjected with a minimal linear cassette generating 1248 putative lines. Complete gene integration was found in only one line (T0-34) containing one copy of cry1Ia detected by Southern blot. Protein was expressed in high concentration at 45 days after emergence (dae), decreasing by approximately 50% at 90 dae. Toxicity of the cry protein was demonstrated in feeding bioassays revealing 56.7% mortality to boll weevil fed buds and 88.1% mortality to fall armyworm fed leaves. A binding of cry1Ia antibody was found in the midgut of boll weevils fed on T0-34 buds in an immunodetection assay.
CONCLUSION
The gene introduced into plants confers resistance to boll weevil and fall armyworm. Transmission of the transgene occurred normally to T1 progeny. All plants showed phenotypically normal growth, with fertile flowers and abundant seeds.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anthonomus grandis	Cotton (Gossypium)
	Spodoptera frugiperda	Cotton (Gossypium)
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1I-toxin (entomopathogen)	Anthonomus grandis	Cotton (Gossypium)
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1I-toxin (entomopathogen)	Spodoptera frugiperda	Cotton (Gossypium)