Bt Resistance

Cornell University researchers have identified how cabbage looper caterpillars in the field develop resistance to the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which naturally occurs in the soil and on plants and has been developed into a successful and widely used biological insecticide.

Organic farmers use Bt as a key weapon against insects, and crops genetically engineered with insecticidal Bt genes are now sown on more than 145 million acres worldwide. When ingested, the insecticidal toxins in Bt kill insects by destroying their guts. Some insects such as cabbage loopers develop resistance to Bt via a genetic mechanism that alters a toxin receptor in the insect's gut, two Cornell University researchers have discovered.

As seen on Farm Industry News