Transgenic sweet potato plants carrying the delta-endotoxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis.

Shared Binding Sites for the Bacillus thuringiensis Proteins Cry3Bb, Cry3Ca, and Cry7Aa in the African Sweet Potato Pest Cylas puncticollis (Brentidae)

“…Hence, the use of genetically engineered sweet potato plants expressing Cry toxins could control these coleopteran pests, as Bt crops have been shown to effectively control stem borers, ear feeders, and rootworms (10). The first attempt to develop a Bt sweet potato expressing Cry3A did not fully control C. formicarius due to low accumulation of the Cry protein (6,7). Similar results were observed recently when Cry7Aa was expressed in the storage root (11).…”

“…The adults lay eggs in the storage root, where larva tunneling leads to rotting, rendering it unsuitable for consumption (4). Current control strategies for these insect pests have not been effective, justifying the need for new control methods such as the use of insecticidal Cry proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (5)(6)(7).…”

Induction of somatic embryogenesis in recalcitrant sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars

“…Other reports show that there is a correlation between the quality and quantity of embryogenic callus and subsequent plant regeneration in sweetpotato (Al-Mazrooei et al, 1997). Therefore it is important to first establish a system for somatic embryogenesis for the recalcitrant cultivars to facilitate regeneration and enable application of genetic engineering to improve important traits (Anwar et al, 2010;Moran et al, 1998).…”

“…Efforts to extend this into a wide range of genotypes have shown that most of them are recalcitrant or respond at low frequencies (Al-Mazrooei et al, 1997;Anwar et al, 2010;Luo et al, 2006). Moreover regeneration protocols reported to work in some laboratories have proved difficult to reproduce in other laboratories (Moran et al, 1998). Importantly, it has been observed that African cultivars are particularly difficult to regenerate in vitro (Luo et al, 2006).…”

An Insight into Sweet Potato Weevils Management: A Review

“…The transformation of crops with Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins showed promising results in pest control through the expression of insecticidal compounds. Morán et al [110] conducted a study to transform Cry3A gene into sweet potato roots to fend against sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius. The transformed sweet potatoes were able to express Cry3A protein but this research was discontinued, as the control of Cylas formicarius with Cry3A was not promising.…”