FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Bt crops. Bt crops are plants genetically engineered (modified) to contain the endospore (or crystal) Bt toxin to be resistant to certain insect pests.

Detailed explanation-2: -Genetic engineering facilitates development of insect resistant crops by expressing bacterial -endotoxins and vegetative insecticidal proteins and other plant genes like lectins, protease inhibitors, etc.

Detailed explanation-3: -Insects need to develop a resistance mechanism against certain antimetabolites produced by plants to feed on them. However, insect-resistant plants can be developed by expressing genes coding for plant resistance isolated from the other plant species.

Detailed explanation-4: -Insect-resistant transgenic crops were first commercialized in the mid-1990s with the introduction of GM corn (maize), potato and cotton plants expressing genes encoding the entomocidal -endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt; also known as Cry proteins).