Transgenic Rice Plants Resist Insects, Drought And S...( that molecular biologists know how to t...)

that molecular biologists know how to transfer the insect-resistance gene to rice, Wu predicted, it should work against any lepidopteran (or caterpillar type) insect that eats plants in the larval stage -- and that is about 70 percent of the known insect pests worldwide. Among crops damaged by lepidopteran insects are sorghum, oats, rye, barley and wheat, as well as corn and rice.

In the case of the highly destructive rice pest, the pink stem borer, the insect enters the plant near the base and eats its way to the top of the stem where the rice grains form, either killing the plant or greatly reducing its yield. Because the transgenic plants do not produce an insect toxin -- just a proteinase inhibitor that disrupts insects' digestion -- the strategy is not 100 percent effective in eliminating insects, the Cornell scientists noted. Greater insect resistance can be easily achieved by adding genes that cause the plant to produce the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxin, Wu said.

Anticipating potential objections to the genetically engineered rice plants, Wu said that the potato proteinase inhibitor has no effect on humans, and it is present in raw the form of a related plant -- tomatoes. Nor are insects themselves likely to ever develop resistance to the proteinase inhibitor, as they eventually do to many toxins and chemical pesticides, because the protein has a different type of action on their systems, he said.

And genes for the insect-, salt- and drought-resistant rice should stay where the genetic engineers put them and not escape to produce a super weed, Wu said, because rice is a self-pollinating plant and few other plants can cross-pollinate with it.

The Rockefeller Foundation's Toenniessen observed that undernourishment already is a problem in most rice-dependent countries of Asia. "Populations are projected to continue growing for at least 30 years, and essentially no land is left for agricultural expansion," he said. "Discoveries such as t
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Contact: Roger Segelken
hrs2@cornell.edu
607-255-9736
Cornell University News Service
11-Jun-1996

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