Hybridizing transgenic Bt cotton with non-Bt cotton counters resistance in pink bollworm.

ABSTRACT: Extensive cultivation of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has suppressed some major pests, reduced insecticide sprays, enhanced pest control by natural enemies, and increased grower profits. However, these benefits are being eroded by evolution of resistance in pests. We report a strategy for combating resistance by crossing transgenic Bt plants with conventional non-Bt plants and then crossing the resulting first-generation (F₁) hybrid progeny and sowing the second-generation (F₂) seeds. This strategy yields a random mixture within fields of three-quarters of plants that produce Bt toxin and one-quarter that does not. We hypothesized that the non-Bt plants in this mixture promote survi

SUBMITTER: Wan P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5448178 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature