Identification of genes with invariant levels of gene expression is a prerequisite for validating transcriptomic changes accompanying development. Ideally expression of these genes should be independent of the morphogenetic process or environmental condition.We report here the validation of internal control gene i.e.TPS (trehalose 6-phosphate-synthase) in cotton (Gossypium spp), using TaqMan sy...

Field studies were performed during 2005 and 2006 to determine bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.), larval behavior on conventional non-transgenic cotton plants (Coker 312), and on transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) plants expressing the Vip3A protein or a combination of Vip3A + Cry 1Ab proteins (VipCot). Plants representing each of the...

BACKGROUND Programmed cell death plays an important role in mediating plant adaptive responses to the environment such as the invasion of pathogens. Verticillium wilt, caused by the necrotrophic pathogen Verticillium dahliae, is a serious vascular disease responsible for great economic losses to cotton, but the molecular mechanisms of verticillium disease and effective, safe methods of resistan...

The detection and identification of genetically modified (GM) plants are challenging issues that have arisen from the potential negative impacts of extensive cultivation of transgenic plants. The screening process is a long-term focus and needs specific detection strategies. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been used to detect a variety of biomolecules including proteins and nucleic acids du...

In the study, a gene encoding a putative ethylene response factor of AP2/EREBP family was isolated from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and designated as GhERF12. Sequence alignment showed that GhERF12 protein contains a central AP2/ERF domain (58 amino acids) with two functional conserved amino acid residues (ala14 and asp19). Transactivation assay indicated that GhERF12 displayed strong transcrip...

Comparison of average crop yields with reported record yields has shown that major crops exhibit annual average yields three- to seven-fold lower than record yields because of unfavorable environments. The current study investigated the enhancement of pollen heat tolerance through expressing an Arabidopsis thaliana heat shock protein 101 (AtHSP101) that is not normally expressed in pollen but r...

The Arabidopsis gene GF14 lambda that encodes a 14-3-3 protein was introduced into cotton plants to explore the physiological roles that GF14 lambda might play in plants. The expression level of GF14 lambda under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter varied in transgenic cotton plants, and lines that expressed GF14 lambda demonstrated a "stay-green" phenotype and improved wat...

Laboratory studies were conducted to investigate tritrophic transfer of insecticidal Cry proteins from transgenic cotton to an herbivore and its predator, and to examine effects of these proteins on the predator's development, survival, and reproduction. Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produced in Bollgard-II (BG-II, Event 15985) cotton plants were acqu...

The bZIP transcription factor (TF) act as an important regulator for the abscisic acid (ABA) mediated abiotic stresses signaling pathways in plants. Here, we reported the cloning and characterization of GhABF2, encoding for typical cotton bZIP TF. Overexpression of GhABF2 significantly improved drought and salt stress tolerance both in Arabidopsis and cotton. However, silencing of GhABF2 made t...