1. Maize - damaged by the larvae of the European Corkborer - can cause up to 20% loss of crop yield
2. Existence of a bacterium - BT
- chromosome of BT shown - on the chromosome there is a gene
- when this gene is switched on it produces BT toxin - known to kill the Corkborer larvae.
3. First step to get the toxin into the Maize to protect it from the European Corkborer
- take restriction enzymes to the gene of the BT - take the gene out to leave the BT gene for the toxin
4. Has to be transfered to the cells of the maize plant
- A 'gene gun' is used to do this - involves taking tiny particles of gold and coating them in the BT gene
- They are then fired at high velocity at the plant cell
- This introduces them into the plant cells interior
- The plant cell then gets the gene
- Maize cell now has BT gene so when it is switched on it can make the BT toxin which means they can kill the larvae
- This gives the Maize resistance to damage caused by the cork borer
No comments:
Post a Comment