CryIIIA toxin gene expression in transgenic rice confers resistance to rice water weevil

The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most widely distributed and destructive early season insect pest of rice, Oryza sativa L. worldwide. The rice plants were transformed with cryIIIA insecticidal gene as well as with the bar gene coding phosphinothricin acetyltransferase. CryIIIA gene under the control of a modified RCg2 promoter drives the insect-toxic gene expression in roots and/or leaves. The cryIIIA gene was transferred into O. sativa L. cv. Nakdong by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Stable integration of the transgene was confirmed in putative transformed rice by Southern blot analysis. The expression of the cryIIIA toxin gene in the roots of transgenic rice plants was verified by RT-PCR and immunoblot analysis. Transgenic rice plants were also evaluated for resistance to natural infestations of the RWW under field conditions between 2007 and 2011. The transgenic Btt8R and Btt12R lines reduced the growth rate of RWW larvae and pupae populations compared with non-transgenic control plants by approximately 52 and 58 %, respectively. To further examine the efficacy of the RWW bioassay, we used pots and performed experiments in trays and under field conditions in 2012. The Btt12R line reduced the total populations of RWW larvae and pupae in trays and under field conditions by 56 and 45 %, respectively. The bioassay experiments conducted over 6 years, showed a significant reduction rate of RWW larvae and pupae populations demonstrating that the cryIIIA gene in transgenic rice confers resistance to RWW.