The basis for rootstock resilient to Capnodis species: screening for genes encoding δ‐endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis. Issue 8 (2nd January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gindin, Galina; Mendel, Zvi; Levitin, Bella; Kumar, Pradeep; Levi, Tal; Shahi, Preeti; Khasdan, Vadim; Weinthal, Dan; Kuznetsova, Tatiana; Einav, Monica; Kushmaro, Ariel; Protasov, Alex; Zaritsky, Arieh; Ben‐Dov, Eitan
• Is Part Of: Pest management science. Volume 70:Issue 8(2014:Aug.)
• Page Start: 1283
• Page End: 1290
• Publication Date: 2014-01-02
• Subjects: Pests -- Control -- Periodicals; Pesticides -- Periodicals; 632.9
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.3694
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1526-498X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="ps3694-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="ps3694-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>BACKGROUND</title> <p id="ps3694-para-0001"> <bold>Conventional methods often fail to control the flatheaded borers <italic>Capnodis</italic> spp., major pests of stone fruit trees; the larvae are protected from insecticides and predation because they feed deep in the roots. A potential solution is transgenic trees producing in their roots toxic compounds such as Cry proteins of <italic>Bacillus thuringiensis</italic> (<italic>Bt</italic>)</bold>.</p> </sec> <sec id="ps3694-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>RESULTS</title> <p id="ps3694-para-0002"> <bold>Toxicities against <italic>Capnodis</italic> larvae were demonstrated by exploiting a recently designed artificial larval diet and an available collection of field isolated <italic>Bt</italic>. An isolate of <italic>Bt tenebrionis</italic> (<italic>Btt</italic>) from commercial bioinsecticide (Novodor) displayed LC<sub>50</sub> and LC<sub>95</sub> values of 3.2 and 164 mg g<sup>−1</sup>, respectively, against neonates of <italic>Capnodis tenebrionis</italic>, whereas values of the most toxic field isolate K‐7 were 1.9 and 25.6 mg g<sup>−1</sup> respectively. Weights of surviving larvae after 1 month on diets containing low concentrations of K‐7 (0.1–1.0 mg g<sup>−1</sup>) were lower than on <italic>Btt</italic> or untreated larvae. K‐7 was also toxic against larvae of <italic>C. cariosa</italic> and <italic>C. miliaris</italic> and found to harbour genes encoding Cry9Ea‐like and Cry23Aa/Cry37Aa binary toxins</bold>.</p> </sec> <sec id="ps3694-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>CONCLUSION</title> <p id="ps3694-para-0003"> <bold>Larvae of <italic>Capnodis</italic> spp. are susceptible to <italic>Bt</italic> Cry toxins. Expressing <italic>cry</italic> genes active against these pests thus seems a feasible solution towards production of transgenic rootstock trees resilient to the pest. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry</bold> </p> </sec> </abstract>