Question

Cultivation of Bt cotton has been much in the news. The prefix Bt stands for

• A. barium-treated cotton seeds
• B. bigger thread variety of cotton with better tensile strength
• C. produced by biotechnology using restriction enzymes and ligases
• D. Bacillus thuringiensis, the bacteria from which the endotoxin gene is taken and inserted into cotton plant

Answer 1

The correct option is D Bacillus thuringiensis, the bacteria from which the endotoxin gene is taken and inserted into cotton plant

Bt cotton, Bt tobacco, Bt tomato, etc are transgenic plans having Bt-2 gene encoding Bt toxin, (e.g., thurioside). Bt toxin gene has been isolated from a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis therefore, called Bt. These plants are resistant for more than 140 species of insects including common cabbage worm, caterpillars, bag worms, canker worms, gypsy worm, etc.