Increased oriental armyworm and aphid resistance in transgenic wheat stably expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxin and Pinellia ternate agglutinin (PTA)

Genetically transformed wheat was developed by co-cultivating immature embryos with Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying a binary vector containing cryIA(c), pta, and bar genes, coding for the BT endotoxin protein, Pinellia ternate agglutinin, and phosphinothricin acetyltransferase, respectively. A total of 20 individual putative transformed plants with resistance to 5 mg l(-1) of the herbicide phosphinothricin (PPT) were selected. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Reversed Transcript PCR (RT-PCR) analysis, and Southern blot analyses confirmed integration of the three transgenes, cryIA(c), pta, and bar, in seven independently-derived transgenic plants, and exhibiting varying levels of expression. Segregation of cryIA(c) and pta genes in most T-1 progenies were consistent with Mendelian inheritance. Insect bioassays showed that transgenic wheat plants decreased survival, development and overall fecundity of insects (aphid and oriental armyworm). This study demonstrated that transgenic wheat carrying two insecticidal genes, cryIA(c) and pta, in a single transformation event provide promising opportunities for control of multiple insects.