Abstract
Transgenic plants expressing combinations of microbial or plant pesticidal proteins represent a promising tool for the efficient, durable control of herbivorous insects. In this review we describe current strategies devised for the heterologous co-expression of pesticidal proteins in planta, some of which have already shown usefulness in plant protection. Emphasis is placed on protein engineering strategies involving the insertion of single DNA constructs within the host plant genome. Multimodal fusion proteins integrating complementary pesticidal functions along a unique polypeptide are first considered, taking into account the structural constraints associated with protein or protein domain grafting to biologically active proteins. Strategies that allow for the co- or post-translational release of two or more pesticidal proteins are then considered, including polyprotein precursors releasing free proteins upon proteolytic cleavage, and multicistronic transcripts for the parallel translation of single protein-encoding mRNA sequences.
Highlights
IntroductionBacillus thuringiensis (Bt) illustrates the growing importance of insect-resistant transgenic plants in agricultural systems worldwide [1]
Large-scale adoption of plant varieties expressing insecticidal Cry toxins from the soil bacteriumBacillus thuringiensis (Bt) illustrates the growing importance of insect-resistant transgenic plants in agricultural systems worldwide [1]
After more than 15 years of commercial use, transgenic bacteriumBacillus thuringiensis (Bt) plant lines still show highly toxic effects against target insects, and documented cases of genetic resistance remain scarce considering the extent of plantations [4]
Summary
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) illustrates the growing importance of insect-resistant transgenic plants in agricultural systems worldwide [1]. Cry toxin-expressing plants (or Bt plants) have been grown in Toxins 2012, 4 more than 25 countries, on a total area of more than 50 million ha annually [1,2] Their high degree of resistance to economically important insects, along with the adoption of deployment strategies to delay the onset of genetic resistance among target pest populations, have largely contributed to the success and sustained efficacy of these plants since their first introduction on the market in the mid-1990s [3,4]. A reliable strategy to promote long-term effectiveness of transgenic Bt plant lines is to consider these plants as components of much broader, integrated pest management systems involving different approaches for insect control [16,17,18]. We review these strategies, with particular emphasis on genetic and protein engineering approaches enabling the coordinated expression of multiple pesticidal proteins under the control of single promoters
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