AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY STRATEGIES FOR ENGINEERING PEST-RESISTANT TRANSGENIC CROP VARIETIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4238/b2hck188Keywords:
Agricultural biotechnology, transgenic crops, pest resistance, CRISPR-Cas9, Bt crops, genetic engineering, sustainable agriculture, crop protection.Abstract
Background: Agricultural pests cause serious losses of crops worldwide and have a great impact on food security, agricultural productivity and economic sustainability. Conventional pest control methods based on pesticides often lead to environmental pollution, resistance to pesticides and toxicity to non-target organisms. Thus, agricultural biotechnology has become an attractive tool for the development of sustainable pest-resistant crop varieties.
Objective: The aim of this study was to review the current approaches of agricultural biotechnology for developing pest resistant transgenic crop species and to analyze the efficiency, environmental benefits and biosafety issues of these approaches.
Methods: Genetic engineering approaches such as recombinant DNA technology, CRISPR-Cas systems, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and gene stacking techniques were reviewed. The role of pest resistance genes like Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, protease inhibitors and RNA interference (RNAi)-based constructs in crop protection was analyzed.
Findings: The transgenic crop varieties engineered showed 70–90% decline in pest infestation and about 25–40% enhancement in crop yield than non-transgenic crops. Bt cotton and Bt maize needed significantly less pesticides and showed enhanced resistance against bollworms and corn borers.
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