Bt corn has a higher lignin content than non‐Bt corn

Journal or Publishing Institution: American Journal of Botany

Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2307/3558416

Author(s): Saxena, D. and Stotzky, G.

Article Type: Peer Reviewed Study

Record ID: 2281

Abstract: Bt corn has been genetically modified to express the Cry1Ab protein of Bacillus thuringiensis to kill lepidopteran pests. Fluorescence microscopy and staining with toluidine blue indicated a higher content of lignin in the vascular bundle sheaths and in the sclerenchyma cells surrounding the vascular bundle in all ten Bt corn hybrids, representing three different transformation events, studied than of their respective non‐Bt isolines. Chemical analysis confirmed that the lignin content of all hybrids of Bt corn, whether grown in a plant growth room or in the field, was significantly higher (33–97% higher) than that of their respective non‐Bt isolines. As lignin is a major structural component of plant cells, modifications in lignin content may have ecological implications.

Keywords: Lignin, Zea mays, Maize, Corn, Vascular bundles, Isogenic lines, Blood Vessels, Sclerenchyma, Tolonium Chloride, Toluidine blue, Structural component, Plant Cells, Fluorescence microscopy, Bacillus thuringiensis, Chemical analysis, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Lepidoptera, Bt corn, Cry1ab protein, Pleiotropic effects, Transgenic plants, Sepia officinalis, artificial diets, food conversion, mortality, nutritive value, starvation, weight gain, Corn, Hybrid species, Plant growth, Vascular plants, Microbial ecology, genetic engineering, bacterial toxins, genetic variation, genetic transformation, quantitative analysis, pleiotropy, crystal proteins, chemical constituents of plants, hybrids

Citation: Saxena, D. and Stotzky, G., 2001. Bt corn has a higher lignin content than non‐Bt corn. American Journal of Botany, 88(9), pp.1704-1706.