Wednesday, November 7, 2007
250-1

Mechanism of the Decrease in Exogenous-Toxin Protein of Transgenic Bt Rice Grown in Elevated CO2 — Dilution-Effect Hypothesis.

Fa-Jun Chen, Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210096, China, Weigang #1, Nanjing, 210095, China, Gang Wu, Biological Science and Technology, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi lu #122, Wuhan, 430070, China, Megha N. Parajulee, Cotton Entomology Research Program; Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas Tech University, 1102 East FM 1294, Lubbock, TX 79403-9803, and Feng Ge, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Zhong guancun, Bei sihuan xilu 25#, Beijing, 100081, China.

In general, significant decrease in exogenous-toxin (i.e. Bt) protein were shown when transgenic Bt crops (e.g. cotton and rice etc) grown in elevated CO2 compared with ambient CO2. So transgenic Bt crops must be faced new ecological risk owing to the decrease in Bt toxin content caused by atmospheric CO2 level arising. Do increased carbohydrates of transgenic Bt crops, causing by elevated CO2, dilute the Bt toxin content in plant tissues? A preliminary study was carried out to ascertain the dilution effect hypothesis, by growing transgenic Bt rice (cv. Kemingdao-II expressing Cry1Ab) under ambient and elevated CO2 in open-top chambers. The dilution effects were shown in under- and above-ground tissues of transgenic Bt rice grown in elevated CO2 compared with ambient CO2 for 50 days after planting (i.e. seedling stage) with significant increases in biomass per plant and Bt amount per plant, and significant decreases in Bt content, but wasn't found in leaves, leaf sheathes, shoot or roots for 100 days after planting (i.e. shooting stage). Moreover, cultivation practices, e.g., spraying special hypermethylation reagents (e.g., 5-azaC) to relieve the exogenous-Bt gene expression silencing, and in combination with nitrogen-fertilization supply have been suggested to improve the Bt-gene expression effectively to control target-herbivore pests of transgenic Bt crops (e.g. Helicoverpa armigera for transgenic Bt cotton and Chilo suppressalis for transgenic Bt rice) especially in elevated CO2.