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Field performance of transgenic elite commercial hybrid rice expressing Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxin

Nature Biotechnology volume 18, pages 1101–1104 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Here we describe development of transgenic elite rice lines expressing a Bt fusion gene derived from cryIA(b) and cryIA(c) under the control of rice actinI promoter. The lines used in the study were indica CMS restorer line of Minghui 63 and its derived hybrid rice Shanyou 63. The level of Bt fusion protein CryIA(b)/CryIA(c) detected in Minghui 63 (T51-1) plants was 20 ng/mg soluble protein. The Bt Shanyou 63 was field-tested in natural and repeated heavy manual infestation of two lepidopteran insects, leaffolder and yellow stem borer. The transgenic hybrid plants showed high protection against both insect pests without reduced yield.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Western blot analysis of stem protein extracts from T2 progenies homozygous for the transgenes analyzed by SDS–PAGE.
Figure 3: Pest reactions and phenotype of the transgenic indica CMS restorer line T51-1 and its hybrid plants expressing the Bt fusion protein derived from CryIA(b) and CryIA(c).

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Acknowledgements

Financial support of BMZ/GTZ (Germany), the Rockefeller Foundation (USA), and China National ‘863’ High Technology Program is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank Prof. Yunliu Fan for providing the Bt construct. Thanks go to colleagues Mike Cohen, Lina Torrizo, Norman Oliva, Michelle Viray, and Niranjan Baisakh for their research and technical assistance and to Bill Hardy for editorial help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Jumin Tu, Guoan Zhang, Caiguo Xu, Yuqing He & Qifa Zhang

  2. Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biochemistry Division, International Rice Research Institute, MCPO Box 3127, Makati City, 1271, Philippines

    Jumin Tu, Karabi Datta, Gurdev Singh Khush & Swapan Kumar Datta

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Correspondence to Swapan Kumar Datta.

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Tu, J., Zhang, G., Datta, K. et al. Field performance of transgenic elite commercial hybrid rice expressing Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxin. Nat Biotechnol 18, 1101–1104 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/80310

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