Abstract

BOBROWSKI, Vera Lucia; FIUZA, Lidia Mariana; PASQUALI, Giancarlo  and  BODANESE-ZANETTINI, Maria Helena. Bacillus thuringiensis genes: an approach to confer insect resistance to plants. Cienc. Rural [online]. 2003, vol.33, n.5, pp. 843-850. ISSN 0103-8478.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782003000500008.

Insect pests are a major worldwide cause of damage to agriculture. The control of insect pests was primarily relied on agrochemical and, in a much smaller scale, on biological insecticides. Insect-resistant transgenic plants represent a new alternative to the protection of crops against insect pests. The entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the source of resistance genes for the commercial production of the so called Bt-plants. In this review, the main features of Bt as source of resistance genes will be described as well as the main aspects of insect-resistant transgenic plants and advantages of using Bt-plants.

Keywords : Bacillus thuringiensis; Bt; transgenic plants; insect resistance; insect pests; d-endotoxin.