Question

a) Development of Bt cotton has reduced the use of insecticides. Justify.
b) Write a note on gene therapy.

Answer 1

a) Bt-cotton plant is a transgenic plant which produces an insecticide against bollworm. Bacillus thuringiensis is the bacterium possess cry gene which is incorporated in the Bt-cotton plant and thus, it produces a crystalline product Bt. The product acts as a toxin when ingested by the pests as it gets activated after reaching the alkaline gut of pests and creates pores in the intestine and kills the pests. The gene provides protection to GMO against budworm, bollworm, beetle, borer, etc. Thus, the development of this plant has reduced the use of insecticides for protection against the pests.

b) Gene therapy is the method which uses genes to treat or prevent disease. This technique involves the introduction of normal genes into the defective cells. This helps in replacing the function of the missing or defective gene in order to correct genetic disorders. Whenever the parents have a query that the child may suffer from any type of genetic disorder, the doctors conduct tests to identify the type of disorder. The disorder can be treated by using gene therapy.