August 30, 2011
Entomologists publish in PLoS ONE
K-State's Lawrent Buschman and Kun Yan Zhu, professors of entomology, Ming-Shun Chen, adjunct associate professor of entomology, and Chitvan Khajuria, research associate in entomology; and Blair Siegfried from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, published an original research paper "Identification of a Novel Aminopeptidase P-Like Gene (OnAPP) Possibly Involved in Bt Toxicity and Resistance in a Major Corn Pest (Ostrinia nubilalis)" in the open access, peer-reviewed scientific online journal PLoS ONE.
The insecticidal properties of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins have been extensively exploited for insect pest control, most recently in transgenic plants that have been genetically modified to express Bt protein toxins in their tissues. Transgenic corn expressing Bt toxins has been very successful in managing the European corn borer, one of the most damaging pests of corn in Europe and North America. However, there are concerns that widespread use of transgenic crops expressing Bt toxins may lead to the development of resistance among target pests and shorten the life of Bt technology. Therefore, identification of the genes involved in the Bt toxin interactions will be fundamental in preventing or at least delaying the onset of resistance in insect populations.
This article identifies a gene that could be associated with Bt resistance in European corn borers. The full article can be found here.