Skip to main content
Entomology 2024 Main banner
Bayer Crop Science
Icon Legend
 
Oral Presentation
Oral Presentation
Poster Display
Poster Display
Student Competition
Student Competition
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Back

Poster Display

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology

Poster: PBT, Genetics and Genomics

D3362: A kinesin-12 protein contributes to Cry1Ac Bt toxin resistance in Helicoverpa zea

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 6, PCC
Poster Display

Genetically engineered crops producing insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are critical for management of some key insect pests. However, the evolution of resistance by pests has reduced the effectiveness of Bt crops. Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), one of the most damaging pests of crops in the U.S., has evolved widespread practical resistance to crops producing Bt crystalline (Cry) proteins including Cry1Ac. Understanding of the genetic basis of H. zea resistance to Cry1Ac has remained elusive. We previously used a genome-wide association study and fine-scale mapping to identify a premature stop codon in a kinesin-12 gene associated with Cry1Ac resistance in the lab-selected H. zea strain, GA-R. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to modify the kinesin-12 gene. The results provide direct evidence that this gene affects susceptibility to Cry1Ac. These results also illustrate the power of pairing modern genomics and gene editing tools to better understand the genetic basis for resistance to Bt insecticidal proteins.