Genetically modified, insect-resistant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton is cultivated extensively in Pakistan. Past studies, however, have raised concerns about the prevalence of Bt cotton varieties possessing weak or nonperforming insect-resistance traits conferred by the cry gene. We examine this issue using data drawn from a representative sample of cotton-growing households that were surv...

Cotton production is hampered by a variety of abiotic stresses that wreak havoc on the growth and development plants, resulting in significant financial losses. According to reports, cotton areas have declined around world as result ongoing stress. Therefore, plant breeding programs are concentrating stress-tolerant varieties. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades involved growth, st...

Transgenic cotton plants (Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt)) has significant influenced the integrated pest management around world. In Colombia, Anthonomus grandis Boheman and Spodoptera complex are currently considered main pests in crops. Therefore, this study evaluated effect of Bt (Cry1Ac Cry2Ab) non-Bt on population fluctuation during two years Tolima region. A Pearson correlation matr...

Background: Transgenic plants inhabiting single Bt gene are prone to develop insect resistance and this resistance has been reported in case of some important yield-devastating insect larvae of commercial crops, such as cotton and rice. Therefore, it has become essential to adapt new strategies to overcome the problem of insect resistance and these new strategies should be sophisticated enough ...

A cDNA clone encoding a 64-amino acid type 3 metallothionein protein, designated GhMT3a, was isolated from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) by cDNA library screening. Northern blot analysis indicated that mRNA accumulation of GhMT3a was up-regulated not only by high salinity, drought, and low temperature stresses, but also by heavy metal ions, abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, and reactive oxygen speci...

Evolution of resistance by pests is the main threat to long-term insect control by transgenic crops that produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins. Because inheritance of resistance to the Bt toxins in transgenic crops is typically recessive, DNA-based screening for resistance alleles in heterozygotes is potentially much more efficient than detection of resistant homozygotes with bioassays. Su...

Laboratory studies were conducted using ELISA and bioassays (Helicoverpa zea) to investigate temporal Cry protein expression in field-grown single (‘Bollgard’) and dual-toxin (‘Bollgard II’) Bt cotton. In single-toxin Bt cotton, Cry1Ac levels changed significantly as the season progressed, exhibiting ca. 3-fold difference in Cry1Ac expression between the highest date (6.2 ppm—12 June) and the l...

Cotton fibre is the most important natural fibres for textile industry. To date, the mechanism that governs the development of fibre traits is largely unknown. In this study, we have characterized the function of a member of the actin depolymerizing factor (ADF) family in Gossypium hirsutum by down-regulation of the gene (designated as GhADF1) expression in the transgenic cotton plants. We obse...

Transgenic crops producing toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) kill insect pests and can reduce reliance on insecticide sprays. Although Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and Bt corn (Zea mays L.) covered 26 million ha worldwide in 2005, their success could be cut short by evolution of pest resistance. Monitoring the early phases of pest resistance to Bt crops is crucial, but ...

In 1996, Bt-cotton (cotton expressing a Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene) expressing the Cry1Ac protein was commercially introduced to control cotton pests. A threat to this first generation of transgenic cotton is the evolution of resistance by the insects. Second-generation Bt-cotton has been developed with either new B. thuringiensis genes or with a combination of cry genes. However, one re...