Question

How has biotechnology helped in producing Meloidegyne incognitia resistant tobacco plant?

Answer 1

Biotechnology can help create genetically modified or GM plants, that can have resistance to pests or can provide a better quality yield

In tobacco plant the infestation of Meloidegyne incognitia can be prevented by inserting a specific transposon through a vector in to the genome of the tobacco plant. This is inserted using a Agrobacterium plasmid, that prevents the expression of the nodule forming gene triggered by the nematode infection. The expression of the transposon forms a complementary strand to the mRNA produced by the nodule forming gene, leading to the formation of a double stranded RNA molecule and thus the gene is not expressed and the nodule is not formed