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Bt Cotton- Transgenic Crop In

India

Yanal Alkuddsi
Ph.D Student
Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding
University of Agricultural Sciences
Dharwad, Karnataka, India, 580005
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 Introduction

Classical plant breeding is limited to the

introduction of required characters into plant by
genetic crossing during sexual reproduction.

To feed the ever increasing population more

and more food has to be produced from less
and less land water and other natural resources

It is obvious that emphasis has to be laid on

new technologies that can improve crop yield
against adverse conditions of biotic and a biotic
stresses and improve the quality .
contd…. ®
The earlier part of plant biotechnology era has
been the development of tissue culture protocols
of several commercially important crops.

The “gene revolution” as compared to green

revolution is poised to benefit both poor and rich
farmers equally and has an immense potential in
transforming global agriculture.

In India, significant efforts have been made to

significantly for develop several programmes in
Biotechnology.
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 WHAT IS A TRANSGENIC CROP

–A transgenic crop is a crop which

contains a gene or genes of a different
species artificially inserted in its
genome,which may come from an
unrelated plant or from a completed
different species.

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Why make transgenic crops?

•Due to limitations of conventional

breeding for attaining the desirable
traits use of recombinant DNA
technology has been taken
advantage and development of
transgenics started.

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Methods of producing transgenic plant ®
 Bt cotton

=
Bacillus thuringiensis transgenic cotton

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 Classification of insecticidal BT proteins.
GeneType Insect Host Size (kD)

Cry IA Caterpillars 133.2

Cry IB Caterpillars 138.0
Cry IC Caterpillars 134.8
Cry IIA Caterpillars / Fly larvae 70.9
CryIIB Fly larvae 70.8
Cry IIIA Beetle larvae 73.1
Cry IVA Fly larvae 134.4
Cry IVB Fly larvae 127.8
Cry IVC Fly larvae 77.8
Cry IVD Fly larvae 72.4

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 The Transformation
.The gene of interest is spliced out
of the bacterium using a vector, Coker 312
like Agrobacterium
tumefasciens, & transferred to
cotton cells grown in tissue
culture.

.The cells are grown into a plant &

then, after testing, plants are
back-crossed into commercial
lines to make new varieties.

Recurrent
back-crossing ®
Genotype requirement – Bt cotton in India
Glabrous ness
Light green leaf
Plant pigmentation long pedicel
Cream petal
Smaller bract
High gossypol on gland
High tannin

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Development of Bt cotton ( World)
1901 - Ishawata- Japan- first reported this is an insect pathogen
1915- Berliner – Thuringia – bacterial spores caused the death of insect
1938 – first commercial product sporeine – france
1950 – toxicity was due to crystal protein
1956 - stein hous “ living insecticide”
1962 – kurstaki isolated highly potent strain in France
1989 – Hofte and whiteley transgenic proposed systemic nomenclature
1990 – Perlak et al., concept of codon modification – modified Bt gene
1996 – first field release of Bt cotton
2002 – released in India for commercial cultivation

( Khadi et al., 2002)

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Development of Bt cotton ( India)
1994 – formation of IBSC and application for seed import
1995 – permit – seed (100gr. Coker 312)
1996- imported seed, greenhouse trails
1996- limited field trails – 1 location
1997 – 98 limited field trails – 5 locations
1998 – ruminant ( goat) and allergicity studies
1998 – 99 – Multicentric replicated trails – 15 + 25 locations
1999 – 2000 – Multicentric replicated trails – 11 locations
2000 – 01 large scale field trails and hybrid seed production
2002 – approval for commercialization by GEAC
( Khadi et al., 2002)

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 Safety - Resistance
.Given time & exposure, insects
have the capacity to overcome
most insecticides. Bt cotton may
be no different, however, there are
safeguards:
.Refugia
.High-Dose Strategy
.Development of additional protein

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 Refugia
•Objective: provide harborage for susceptible
moth production to reduce the chance of resistant
(R) moths mating with each other
RR RR RR SS

RS SS
RR
•U.S. growers are required to plant a proportion of
their acreage to non-Bt cotton
5% Refuge, if no lepidopteran-active
insecticides are used on it, or else
20% Refuge

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Concerns Insect resistance

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 High-Dose Strategy, Depends on:
• The production of a dose high enough to kill:
>99.9% of a susceptible (SS) population,
and Yes
>95% of the heterozygous (RS) individuals,
Yes

• A recessive resistance, Yes

• Random mating. Yes, *refuges

• A low initial frequency of the ‘R’ allele. No (?)

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 Population dynamics of non-target pests and
natural enemies in Bt cotton field

•Number of predators
increased due to reduced
pesticide uses in Bt cotton
field.

•The damage of aphid

reduced due to higher
population of natural enemies.

•Mirids become the major

pests in Bt cotton.

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 Impact of Bt Cotton Pollen
On Silkworms

Bombyx mori Antheraea pernyi

No significant difference was observed on mortality of silkworm at the

density of 100 pollen grains/cm2 in Bt cotton field or Chinese tussah
silkworm at the density of 1000 pollen grains/cm2 in Bt corn field
compared to non-Bt controls
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 The Bollworm-
Pectonophora gossypiella

The underside of the leaves of African and American

species of cotton produce a sticky-sweet nectar which
attracts many pests, chief among them the bollworm (the
boll weevil has been largely eradicated), the larvae of a
small moth, Pectinophora gossypiella. Bollworms and
budworms burrow into the boll or bud shortly before
harvest and feed on the fibers or lint.
Home Ginning Textiles Clothes Consumers ®
 Feeding at Base of Armyworms on Cotton Bract
Boll

Damage to Inside of Boll

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 Economically Damaged Square Damaged Square: Bt Cotton

Color Phases of Beet Armyworms

Bollworm in Bloom Tag
on Cotton Flower ®
 Bollgard II Cotton

Monsanto,USA
Bollgard I – event 531 – cry 1 Ac
Bollgard II- event 15985 cry 1 Ac + cry 2 Ab
Cotton Boll Damage Cotton Boll Protected

Benefits
n Insect resistance
management
n Increased control of
target pests
n Reduced insecticide
application
Control Bollgard

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 CONCLUSION
Is Bt a "public good"?
YES, by anyone's definition of a public good. Bt is
a public good because it is a natural resource, a part
of the biotic community, that has evolved over the
millennium shaped by the forces of nature. It is a
biological resource that serves uniquely valuable
functions within biotic communities, both in
natural systems and those managed by humans. It
is a product of organisms widely dispersed in
nature, owned by no one.
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