Transformation of Cry1a105 gene to tomato in order to increase resistance to Heliothis

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable in the world, it exposes to a wide range of pathogens and plant pests attack. Fruit worm is one of the most important the plant pest which mainly damage the fruit and causes the yield reduction. In this study, cry1a105 gene was cloned to pBI121 plasmid (with 35S promoter and Nos terminator), and was transferred to tomato by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404. The cotyledon of tomato cultivar was used for gene transfer. The candidate transgenic plants have been selected on MS medium complemented with vitamin B5, 0.3 mg/L NAA, 1.5 mg/L BAP, and 50 mg/L of kanamycin antibiotic. Molecular analysis using polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ) confirmed the presence of cry1a105 gene in transgenic plants (T0). The candidate plants were cultivated until T2 generation and then the presence of gene were studied by molecular analysis (RT- PCR ). The genes of the plants were confirmed, examined by bioassay analysis. Bioassay analysis showed that Karun cultivar had a high resistance (70%) to tomato fruit worm than the control treatment.