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Avidin and Plant Biotechnology to Control Pests

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Genetic Engineering, Biofertilisation, Soil Quality and Organic Farming

Part of the book series: Sustainable Agriculture Reviews ((SARV,volume 4))

Abstract

The urgency of the global food crisis, coupled with the environmental impact of global warming and fuel shortages, indicate that transgenic methods may be required to enhance food production and quality. Widely used chemical insecticides, such as phosphine and methyl bromide, are losing their utility either due to insect resistance or to the environmental damage they cause. It is most unlikely that traditional plant-breeding methods for generating insect resistance will deliver the crop improvements required in the available time frame. In this review, we discuss the application of transgenic avidin, a protein naturally occurring in egg-white, for the protection of rice, maize, potato and apple leaf from insect pests. Avidin binds the vitamin biotin with extraordinary affinity (10−15 M). Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin required for normal cellular metabolism and growth. The presence of avidin in the diet of insect pests is lethal since biotin is unavailable to them. The use of streptavidin, a bacterial homologue of avidin, is also described. We discuss the sub-cellular targeting of avidin expression in plants to avoid toxicity to the plant host and we describe the qualities of avidin which make it suitable for crop protection during cultivation and storage. Avidin is stable under normal conditions of crop storage but biodegradable and destroyed by cooking. These combined qualities make it an excellent choice for the protection of crops from insects. Finally, we discuss the modification of the avidin gene to allow expression in plants, the methods for transfection of the gene into plants, and the approaches used to quantify gene expression and avidin function in plant tissues. These methods include: polymerase chain reaction; enzyme-linked immmunosorbent assay; polyacrylamide gel-electrophoresis; fluorescence polarisation (FP); capillary electrophoresis; tissue-printing; square-wave voltammetry (SWV) and the measurement of larvae morbidity and mortality.

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Abbreviations

AC:

alternating current

AdTSV:

adsorptive transfer stripping

CPE:

carbon paste electrode

DNA:

deoxyribonucleic acid

ELISA:

enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

FP:

fluorescence polarization

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

SDS-PAGE:

sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

SWV:

square-wave voltammetry

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Acknowledgement

Financial support from grants MSMT 6215712402 is highly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited, Mt Albert Research Centre, 92169, Auckland, New Zealand

    Harry Martin & Elisabeth P. J. Burgess

  2. Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, CZ-625 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Masarik

  3. Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, KS, 66502, Manhattan, USA

    Karl J. Kramer

  4. Department of Veterinary Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1-3, CZ-612 42, Brno, Czech Republic

    Miroslava Beklova

  5. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Vojtech Adam & Rene Kizek

  6. Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Vojtech Adam

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  1. Harry Martin
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  2. Elisabeth P. J. Burgess
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  3. Michal Masarik
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  4. Karl J. Kramer
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  6. Vojtech Adam
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  7. Rene Kizek
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Correspondence to Rene Kizek .

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  1. INRA-CMSE-PME, rue Sully 17, Dijon CX, 21065, France

    Eric Lichtfouse

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Martin, H. et al. (2010). Avidin and Plant Biotechnology to Control Pests. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Genetic Engineering, Biofertilisation, Soil Quality and Organic Farming. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8741-6_1

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