GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services. GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS TIMM WOLF AND JONAS KOCH EDITORS Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York Copyright © 2008 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. 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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Genetically modified plants / Timm V. Wolf and Jonas P. Koch (editors). p. cm. ISBN 978-1-60879-273-6 (E-Book) 1. Transgenic plants. 2. Plant genetic engineering. I. Wolf, Timm V. II. Koch, Jonas P. SB123.57.G483 2008 631.5'233--dc22 2008014985 Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York CONTENTS Preface vii Chapter 1 Detection and Monitoring of Bacillus Thuringiensis Resistance Alleles in the Sugarcane Borer, Diatraea Saccharalis (F.) 1 Fangneng Huang and B. Rogers Leonard Chapter 2 Plant-Based Antibodies and Virus-Like Particles: A Leap Towards New Therapeutic Development 19 Patricia Obregón, Alicia Fernandez-San Millan and Jon Veramendi Chapter 3 Genetic Modification in Lolium and Festuca Species 63 Wataru Takahashi and Tadashi Takamizo Chapter 4 Genetically Engineered Plants for Feed and Food 77 Filippo Rossi and Piero Morandini Chapter 5 Agrobacterium Rhizogenes-Mediated Genetic Transformations: A Powerful Tool for the Production of Metabolites 99 M. Georgiev, V. Georgiev, J. Weber, Th. Bley, M. Ilieva and A. Pavlov Chapter 6 Genetically Modified Plants Containing Plant-Derived Genes for Broad Spectrum Insect Control to Reduce Mycotoxins: Bioactive Proteins 127 Patrick F. Dowd, Eric T. Johnson, T. Scott Pinkerton and Stephen R.Hughes Chapter 7 Altering Plant Secondary Metabolism to Achieve Broad Spectrum Insect Control and Reduce Mycotoxins 151 Eric T. Johnson, Patrick F. Dowd and T. Scott Pinkerton Chapter 8 Gene up-Regulation by DNA Demethylation in 35S-GSHI Transgenic Poplars (Populus x canescens) 173 G. Gyulai, Z. Tóth, A. Bittsánszky, G. Gullner, Z. Szabó, J. Kiss, T. Kőmíves and L. Heszky vi Contents Chapter 9 The Effects of Organic and Genetically Modified Soy on Cholesterol and Triglycerides Serum Levels. Study in Rats 193 Lavínia Leal Soares, Ana Maria Martins Lucas and Gilson Teles Boaventura Chapter 10 Qualitative and Quantitative PCR Methods for Biotech Canola GT73 and Ms8/Rf3 201 Seong-Hun Lee Index 215 PREFACE This book provides research from around the globe on Genetically modified plants which is a plant genetically engineered to contain one or more genes of another species. The aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant species which does not occur naturally in this species, for example resistance to certain pests, diseases or environmental conditions, or the production of a certain nutrient or pharmaceutical agent. Genetically modified plants are often called "transgenic plants", as they contain one or more transgenes from other organisms, however, this term also includes plants in which the transgene was integrated by naturally occurring processes. Chapter 1 - Monitoring changes in Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistance allele frequencies in field insect populations is essential for sustainability of the transgenic Bt crops. Resistance monitoring for Bt crops should be able to provide information on early shifts in resistance allele frequency so that proactive measures can be implemented to delay and even restrict the occurrence of widespread control failures. However, early detection of a change in the Bt resistance frequency in an insect population is often difficult and costly, especially if information is lacking or unavailable on resistance mechanism(s). Since 2004, a coordinated monitoring program for detecting a low frequency of Bt resistance in field populations of the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), a major target lepidopteran pest of Bt corn in the mid-southern region of the United States, has been implemented in Louisiana. This monitoring program includes 1) planting field corn after the optimum planting dates at multi- locations in the primary corn production areas of the state to attract and maintain late-season pest populations; 2) collecting larvae and pupae from these areas on multiple dates to ensure sufficient sample sizes for developing family-lines; 3) rearing field-collected larvae to pupal stage and sexing all pupae within a location; 4) establishing two-parent family-lines for an F2 screen or hybridizing field-derived moths with those from a Bt resistant strain that were used in an F1 screen; 5) detecting Bt resistance alleles using F2/F1 screens on Bt corn leaf tissues; 6) confirming Bt resistance for potential positive family-lines identified in the F2/F1 screens; and 7) estimating Bt resistance allele frequencies. Each year since the implementation of this monitoring program, 251-560 feral sugarcane borers were examined for Bt resistance alleles. Major resistance alleles that allowed resistant insects to complete larval development on Bt corn plants were detected in three populations sampled during 2004, 2006, and 2007, but not in 2005. The estimated Bt resistance allele frequency ranged from 0-0.0039 with an overall rate of 0.0013 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.0003-0.0028 during the monitoring period. The estimated time required for examining two feral insects (a two-parent family-line for F2 viii Timm Wolf and Jonas Koch screen or two lines for F1 screen) was 0.91 hours using the F2 screen and 0.66 hours using the F1 screen. These results indicate that the Bt resistance allele frequency in Louisiana populations of sugarcane borer appears somewhat higher compared to that estimated for other corn stalk boring species targeted by Bt corn. No significant shift in the Bt resistance allele frequency has been observed during this four-year period. Furthermore, the resistance frequency observed in these populations does not require remediation or support a proactive change in the current resistance management strategies for Bt field corn. Chapter 2 - The generation of therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins for medical application is one of the fastest growing areas of the pharmaceutical industry with more than 150 therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins currently either in clinical trial or use. At the same time, the use of virus-like particles has become an interesting tool in the fight against viral infections. Thus, some devastating high-incidence diseases such as HIV or cancer are currently chosen as clear targets for this type of therapeutical strategy. However, the high production cost of the current manufacturing systems of these molecules is a latent hurdle to overcome. With the advent of biotechnology, transgenic plants have emerged as a more economical new strategy for recombinant protein production. Antibodies and virus-like particles have been demonstrated to be well expressed in plants. In addition, the achieved protein expression level of most of them in the plant system has been reported to be compatible with that established for commercial viability. These facts make the use of plants for the generation of these types of recombinant molecules a very promising strategy to the development of lower cost biopharmaceuticals.