There is a new resolve, provoked by recent hikes in food prices around the world, to increase global food production in order to feed a rapidly growing population. In response made optimistic claims about the ability of genetically engineered (GE) crops changed using spliced genes that are often from unrelated organisms Agricultural biotechnology has shown to increase countries, far beyond the ...

The 'high-dose-refuge' (HDR) strategy is widely recommended by the biotechnology industry and regulatory authorities to delay pest adaptation to transgenic crops that produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins. This involves cultivating nontoxic plants (refuges) in close proximity to crops producing a high dose of Bt toxin. The principal cost associated with this strategy is due to yield losses...

BACKGROUND Expression of double strand RNA (dsRNA) designed against important insect genes in transgenic plants have been shown to give protection against pests through RNA interference (RNAi), thus opening the way for a new generation of insect-resistant crops. We have earlier compared the efficacy of dsRNAs/siRNAs, against a number of target genes, for interference in growth of whitefly (Bemi...

A gene encoding delta 9 desaturase (D9DS), an integral membrane protein, is being considered for incorporation into oilseed crops to reduce saturated fatty acids and thus improve human nutritional value. Typically, a safety assessment for transgenic crops involves purifying heterologously produced transgenic proteins in an active form for use in safety studies. Membrane-bound proteins have been...

Higher plants utilize various mechanisms to maintain iron homeostasis. To acquire sparingly soluble iron from the rhizosphere, graminaceous plants synthesize natural iron (III) chelators known as mugineic acid family phytosiderophores (MAs). Recent research has uncovered various genes involved in iron uptake and translocation, as well as factors regulating the expression of these genes, especia...

Biotechnology is a vital issue that impacts all of us. Development of genetically modified organisms is one of the highest achievements of this technology. It is being released throughout our environment and deployed with superficial or no risk assessments about its matchless powers to harm life. Within the next few years, many types of transgenic commodities will be ready for commercialization...

Genetically engineered seedlings obtained from self-fertilized transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) contained and expressed the mouse metallothionein and kanamycin resistance marker genes and were more tolerant to cadmium stress than untransformed controls. Cadmium accumulation in leaves of transgenic seedlings exposed to a low, field-like Cd concentration (0.02 micromolar) was about 20% lowe...

Drought is one of the most important abiotic stresses affecting the productivity of maize. Previous studies have shown that expression of a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) gene activated an oxidative signal cascade and led to the tolerance of freezing, heat, and salinity stress in transgenic tobacco. To analyse the role of activation of oxidative stress signalling in imp...

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry toxins have been used widely in pest managements. However, Cry toxins are not effective against sap-sucking insects (Hemiptera), which limits the application of Bt for pest management. In order to extend the insecticidal spectrum of Bt toxins to the rice brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, we modified Cry1Ab putative receptor binding domains with selecte...

Transgenic crops that produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins for pest control are grown extensively, but insect adaptation can reduce their effectiveness. Established mode of action models assert that Bt proteins Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac are produced as inactive protoxins that require conversion to a smaller activated form to exert toxicity. However, contrary to this widely accepted paradigm, we...