Figures
ABCs of insect resistance to Bt
Corn, cotton, and soybeans have been genetically engineered to make insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). These Bt toxins kill some devastating pests, but do little or no harm to most other organisms. However, rapid evolution of pest resistance has reduced the environmental, health and economic benefits of transgenic Bt crops. In this Perspective, the author reviews the global status of insect resistance to Bt crops and explains the impact of the discovery by Tay et al. that resistance to Bt toxin Cry2Ab is conferred by mutations in an ABC transporter gene. See Bruce E. Tabashnik and Tay et al.
Image Credit: Alex Yelich
Citation: (2015) PLoS Genetics Issue Image | Vol. 11(11) November 2015. PLoS Genet 11(11): ev11.i11. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pgen.v11.i11
Published: November 30, 2015
Copyright: © 2015 Alex Yelich. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Corn, cotton, and soybeans have been genetically engineered to make insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). These Bt toxins kill some devastating pests, but do little or no harm to most other organisms. However, rapid evolution of pest resistance has reduced the environmental, health and economic benefits of transgenic Bt crops. In this Perspective, the author reviews the global status of insect resistance to Bt crops and explains the impact of the discovery by Tay et al. that resistance to Bt toxin Cry2Ab is conferred by mutations in an ABC transporter gene. See Bruce E. Tabashnik and Tay et al.
Image Credit: Alex Yelich