Scientist Allah Baksh and the team from Nigde Omer Halisdemir University
in Turkey successfully stacked insecticidalgenesin potatoes to confer
effective resistance against the Colorado potato beetle. The findings
are published in/Plant Biotechnology Reports/.

Colorado potato beetle is a major pest of potato crops. To prevent
damage from this pest, the researchers stacked combinations ofBt
gene(/cry3A/), synthetic hybrid (/SN-19/), and plant proteinase
inhibitor Oryza cystatin II (/OCII/) and further transformed them into
two potato cultivars through/Agrobacterium-/mediated transformation.
Results showed that the transgenic plants
with/cry3A/â??+â??/SN-19/and/OCII/â??+â??/SN-19/gene combinations had high
resistance to Colorado potato beetle, showing 100% mortality of all
insects in larval and adult stages. A delay in the mortality of the
insects in the adult stage was observed, compared to those in the larval
stages. Leaf damage was also found to be decreased in the transgenic
plants compared with the control.

Results of the study indicate that stacking of genes in potato plants
can potentially control the infestation of Colorado potato beetle.

Stacked insecticidal genes in potatoes exhibit enhanced toxicity against
Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera:
Chrysomelidae) | SpringerLink
[link.springer.com]