Insect pest complex, cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) and weeds pose major
threat to cotton production worldwide. To address these problems, the
National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIGBE)
developed a triple gene construct harboring Cry1Ac, Cry2Ab and EPSPS for
plant transformation to confer resistance to lepidopterans and glyphosate
herbicides.

The team used tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) as a model system for
characterization of this triple gene construct. In the six transgenic
tobacco lines, assays confirm the successful protein expression of all three
genes.

Efficacy of Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab was evaluated through insect bioassay using
armyworm (Spodoptera littoralis). The transgenic tobacco plants showed
significant insect mortality as compared to control plants. Three of the six
tested transgenic lines exhibited 100% mortality of armyworm, while the
three other lines had 40-86% mortality.

This study showed that the triple gene construct can be used to transform
crops, including cotton, for the development of insect resistant and
herbicide tolerant transgenic plants.



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