Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), or fall armyworm, is an important agricultural pest of several crops in the Western Hemisphere, including cotton (Gossypium L.). Two morphologically identical host strains of fall armyworm exist that differ in plant host use and habitat distribution. The corn-strain is a primary pest of corn, Zea mays L., whereas the rice-strain is th...

W.C. RICE. 1999. A PCR-based method was developed for the rapid detection of vip3A gene encoding a novel Bacillus thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal protein with a wide spectrum of activities against lepidopteran insects. Specific primer combinations (three primers for the normal strand and two primers for the complementary strand) were capable of generating diagnostic fragments that success...

Plant breeding, the science of crop production, has traditionally developed new cultivars through selective breeding in the spirit of Gregor Mendel (1965) and his peas. Plant breeders hybridize plants that have been selected for some desired trait. By hybridizing desirable plants, desirable alleles—and combinations of alleles—are concentrated, thereby improving the fitness of the offspring. Pla...

BT799 is a genetically modified (GM) maize plant that expresses the Cry1Ac gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The Cry1Ac gene was introduced into maize line Zhen58 to encode the Bt crystal protein and thus produce insect-resistant maize BT799. Expression of Bt protein in planta confers resistance to Lepidopteran pests and corn rootworms. The present study was designed to investigate any pot...

Bacillus licheniformis Heshi-B2 was isolated from fermented rice bran in Heshiko, a food produced by aging salted mackerel with fresh rice bran. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of B. licheniformis Heshi-B2, originating from a Heshiko sample from Fukui Prefecture, Japan.

As 16S rRNA sequence analysis has proven inadequate for the differentiation of Bacillus cereus from closely related species, we employed the gyrase B gene (gyrB) as a molecular diagnostic marker. The gyrB genes of B. cereus JCM 2152(T), Bacillus thuringiensis IAM 12077(T), Bacillus mycoides ATCC 6462(T), and Bacillus anthracis Pasteur #2H were cloned and sequenced. Oligonucleotide PCR primer se...

BACKGROUND Growers have enthusiastically embraced crops genetically modified to express Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins for insect control because they provide excellent protection from key damaging insect pests around the world. Bt crops also offer superior environmental and health benefits while increasing grower income. However, insect resistance development is an important concern for ...

Bt cotton is a GM crop into which a gene of the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis has been transferred to make it resistant to major lepidopteran insect pests. It was developed by the US company Monsanto and, as one of the first GM crop technologies, it became commercially available in the mid1990s. Since then, the technology has spread rapidly in the US, Australia, as well as in several de...

The evolution of genetically modified crops took a major step in the mid-1990s with the approval and commercial release of insect-resistant maize hybrids with transgenes derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt maize). The release of Bt maize was met with great enthusiasm by many researchers and crop managers because of its ability to very effectively control European corn borers a...

The genetically modified (GM) maize event MON810 has been inserted with a processed version of the transgene, cry1Ab, derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to express proteins with insecticidal properties. Such proteins may introduce new allergens and also act as adjuvants that promote allergic responses. While focus has been on safe consumption and hence the oral exposure...