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Bacillus thuringiensis-Based Gene Pyramiding: a Way Forward for a Combined Horizontal and Vertical Resistance in Plant

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Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology: Phytostimulation and Biocontrol

Abstract

Crop loss due to pests could reach as high as 70% if preventive measures with either pesticide, natural enemies, host plant resistance or other nonchemical controls are not used. Even if several conventional crop protection methods are in place, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-based bioprotection of crops has been taking prominence. However, several studies documented that pests are yet developing resistance to Bt crops or Bt-based biopesticides. Hence, there is still a need to explore other alternative effective strategies that could stand on its own or could be integrated with other pest management tools. To the effect, gene pyramiding has recently been explored as a relatively sustainable alternative. Very recently some studies have been carried out to pyramid different Bt-sourced cry genes and even other genes like the one encoding for phytase enzyme. Such technique is a relatively recent advancement and one of the most important novel genetic engineering tools of the time that is yet to go mainstream, despite its untapped potential. Therefore, in this chapter, we tried to compare different crop protection strategies and make a point that gene pyramiding could be a better alternative if not the only one for sustainable pest management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. OMICS Research Group & Facility, Department of Biotechnology, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

    Jane Choene Segolela & Naser Aliye Feto

  2. Agricultural Research Council, Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Crops, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, Republic of South Africa

    Obiro Cuthbert Wokadala

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  1. Jane Choene Segolela
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  2. Obiro Cuthbert Wokadala
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  3. Naser Aliye Feto
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Correspondence to Naser Aliye Feto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    Md Tofazzal Islam

  2. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    M. Mahfuz Rahman

  3. Department of Microbiology, Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India

    Piyush Pandey

  4. Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Michael Henry Boehme

  5. Department of Applied Biosciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Geert Haesaert

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Segolela, J.C., Wokadala, O.C., Feto, N.A. (2019). Bacillus thuringiensis-Based Gene Pyramiding: a Way Forward for a Combined Horizontal and Vertical Resistance in Plant. In: Islam, M., Rahman, M., Pandey, P., Boehme, M., Haesaert, G. (eds) Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology: Phytostimulation and Biocontrol. Bacilli in Climate Resilient Agriculture and Bioprospecting. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15175-1_15

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