Bt Brinjal

Introduction to Bt Brinjal:

* The Bt brinjal is a suite of transgenic brinjals (also known as an eggplant or aubergine) created by inserting a crystal gene (Cry1Ac) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars.
* The insertion of the gene, along with other genetic elements like promoters, terminators and an antibiotic resistance marker gene into the brinjal plant is accomplished using Agrobacterium-mediated recombination.
* The Bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance against lepidopteron insects, in particular the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)(FSB).
* Monsanto, a multinational company based in the USA, has developed the Bt brinjal in partnership with India's Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco).
* Some of the cultivars of brinjal that are alleged to have been engineered include: Malpur local, Manjari gota, Kudachi local, Udupi local, 112 GO, and Pabkavi local.
* It was approved for commercialization in India in 2009, but after a public outcry the Indian government applied a moratorium on its release.

Posted in: Today's G.K