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
Perspectives
ABCs of Insect Resistance to Bt
PLOS Genetics: published November 19, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005646
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Reviews
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Ernst Rüdin’s Unpublished 1922-1925 Study “Inheritance of Manic-Depressive Insanity”: Genetic Research Findings Subordinated to Eugenic Ideology
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