Resistance to Chilo infuscatellus (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) in transgenic lines of sugarcane expressing Bacillus thuringiensis derived Vip3A protein.

Sustainable agriculture requires management of insect pests through resistance development. The biological potential of Cry toxins and Vip protein, derived from Bacillus species, is widely recognized in this context. The identification, evaluation of new insecticidal protein genes with different mode of action and entomotoxicity against sugarcane stem borer (Chilo infuscatellus) is important to overcome evolved insect resistance. In this study, we reported the generation of transgenic sugarcane lines expressing Vip3A toxin driven by polyubiquitin promoter for resistance against sugarcane stem borer. The V0 transgenic sugarcane plants were initially characterized by GUS histochemical staining, PCR and Southern blot assays that confirmed genetic transformation of twelve independent sugarcane lines. Variable transgene expression was found among transgenic sugarcane lines when revealed through Realtime quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) with highest in S10 line while minimum was observed in V5 line. A similar expression pattern was observed in transgenic sugarcane lines for Vip3A protein concentration which ranged from 5.35 to 8.89 µg/mL. A direct correlation was observed between the Vip3A protein and Vip3A transgene expression in the transgenic sugarcane lines. In in-vitro insect bioassay on V1, Vip3A transgenic sugarcane lines exhibited high resistance to C. infuscatellus with upto 100% mortality compared to the control sugarcane line. Our findings suggest that a single copy insertion of Vip3A gene in transgenic sugarcane lines render them resistant to borer and these lines can be potentially used for generation of insect resistant transgenic sugarcane and could also be employed in gene pyramiding with Bt toxin to prolong resistance.