Zhen Li

Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Entomology, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 2   doi: 10.5376/me.2024.15.0007
Received: 05 Mar., 2024    Accepted: 06 Apr., 2024    Published: 17 Apr., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Li Z., 2024, The role of genetic engineering in enhancing sugarcane resistance to insect pests, Molecular Entomology, 15(2): 52-60 (doi: 10.5376/me.2024.15.0007)

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is a vital crop for sugar production globally, yet it faces significant yield losses due to insect pest attacks. Traditional breeding methods have struggled to enhance pest resistance due to the complex genetic makeup of sugarcane and the absence of inherent resistance genes. Genetic engineering has emerged as a promising alternative, enabling the introduction of genes that confer resistance to pests. This study explores various genetic engineering strategies employed to enhance sugarcane resistance to insect pests. Key approaches include the overexpression of cry proteins, vegetative insecticidal proteins (VIP), lectins, and proteinase inhibitors (PI), as well as the application of advanced biotechnological tools such as host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) and CRISPR/Cas9. This study also discusses the integration of multiple resistance genes, such as Cry1Ab and EPSPS, and their impact on pest resistance and agronomic traits. The findings highlight the potential of genetic engineering to develop transgenic sugarcane lines with robust resistance to insect pests, thereby contributing to sustainable sugarcane production.

Genetic engineering; Sugarcane; Insect pest resistance; transgenic plants; CRISPR/Cas9