The first transgenic crop was deregulated in 1995 and the power of this technology to increase agricultural productivity is reflected in the fact that in 2012, transgenic crops were cultivated on 170 million hectares in 28 countries. First generation products containing transgenic insect resistance (IR) traits typically contained a single mechanism of action (MOA) targeting a specific pest complex, while the most recent products utilize pyramided MOAs. While there is an increased cost to the trait provider in pyramiding MOAs, a benefit is the opportunity to simplify grower production practices and increase product lifespan by incorporating the resistance-mitigating �refuge� seed (containing no IR traits) as a seed mixture with IR trait-containing seed. Pyramiding of traits, emergence of new pests, incorporation of IR traits into new crops, and the finite lifespan of commercialized IR traits, all drive the search for novel IR traits. Insecticidal protein genes from Gram-positive bacteria like Bacillus thuringiensis remain a significant focus of new IR trait discovery. Engineering these proteins to alter specific attributes has been used successfully to create novel IR traits. The advent of Next Generation Sequencing technologies and associated bioinformatics capabilities have enabled rapid sequencing of bacterial genomes and dramatically increased the rate of discovery of novel IR genes. These same technologies have enabled the creation of RNAi-based IR traits for some pests. Engineering plants to produce insecticidal or behavior-modifying small molecules also holds promise as a means to create novel IR traits. A challenge to sustaining innovation in the discovery and commercialization of novel IR traits remains creating value for growers and for the companies that invest in bringing these technologies to the marketplace.

Discovery of new insect resistance traits for control of insect pests in transgenic crops

246th National Meeting (2013)

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