By: Dr. Ripudaman Singh (Special Correspondent ICN Group) & Hemant Kumar ( Agriculture Correspondent ICN Group)
NEW DELHI: The Bt. Brinjal is a transgenic brinjal created by inserting a crystal protein gene (Cry 1 Ac) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars. These Brinjal plants are found to be resistance against lepidopteran insects like the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer Leucinodes orbonalisand Fruit Borer Helioverpa armigera.
Importance of Bringal in India
Brinjal is a low calories and fats containing vegetable and contains mostly water, some protein, fibre and carbohydrates. It is also an ellent source of minerals and vitamins and is rich in water soluble sugars and amide proteins among other nutrients. The brinjal is a popular component of the Indian diet across the country. It is an important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine and is of special value in the treatment of diabetes and liver problems.
Need to produce Bt brinjal:
Brinjal is an important food crop for India, and the potential commercialization of a genetically modified variety provides support and criticism. Brinjal is a major food crop in India but its yield is found to be low as compared to its need because the fruit and shoot borer infestation the fruit and shoot borer infestation found to be a major constraint to yield. Field trials conducted on research-managed farms carried out by Mahyco and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research suggested a 42 % pesticide reduction and a doubling of the yield was possible by producing Bt Brinjal.
Production of Bt Brinjal by Genetic modification:
Bt brinjal is produced by the technique of genetic engineering in which transfer of a selected fragment of DNA capable of performing new functions from one organism to another takes place. Genetic Modification (GM) Genetic Manipulation and Genetic Engineering (GE) all refer to the same thing. It is also known as recombinant DNA technology.
Bt Brinjal is the first Genetically Modified food crop in India that has reached the approval stage for commercialization. Bt Brinjal has been developed by inserting a gene cry 1Ac from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thruringiensis through an Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. It is a genetically modified brinjal developed by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd. (Mahyco), a leading Indian seed company. Bt brinjal contains three foreign genes which have been inserted namely:
The cry 1Ac gene which encodes an insecticidal protein Cry 1Ac, is derived from common soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp. Kurstaki to produce the insecticidal protein. The cry 1Ac gene is driven by a viral promoter, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 355 promoter.
The nptll gene for an antibiotic resistance marker, neomycin phospotransferase-II
The aad gene for another 3” (9) O-aminoglycoside adenyl transferase.
Work of cry protein to give resistance:
When fruit and shoot borer larvae feed on Bt brinjal plants, thy ingest the Bt protein Cry 1 Ac along with plant tissue. In the insect gut, which is alkaline with a pH >9.5, the protein binds to specific receptor proteins present in the insect membrane, resulting in pore formation in the membranes. This leads to disruption of digestive processes, paralysis, and subsequent death of the fruit and shoot borer larvae. The cry 1Ac gene along with two other supporting genes namely nptll and aad genes are put together in such a way that they work in tandem to produce insecticidal protein that is toxic to the targeted inset, in this case the fruit and shoot borer.
Bt Brinal production History in India
In year 2000-2002 transformation and greenhouse breeding to study growth, development and efficacy of Bt brinjal had started in India and many field trials has been started to know germinations, aggressiveness and weediness, biochemical, toxicity and allergenicity in 2002-2004. Then to start large scale field trials for the production of Bt brinjal Mahyco submit bio-safety data to Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in 2006 and it approved by GEAC in 2007.
As per GEAC direction, Indian Institue of Vegetable Research {IIVR} takes up the responsibility of large scale trails of Mahyco’s Bt Brinjal trails at 10 research institutions across the country in 2007 and 11 in 2008. In 2009 Oct. 15th Responding to strong views expressed both for and against the release of the Bt Brinjal, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C) (to whom the GEAC reports) announces a nationwide consultation in January and February of 2010 pending a final decision on this issue.
