Potent insect gut binding lectin from Sclerotium rolfsii impart resistance to sucking and chewing type insects in cotton

Abstract Cotton is an important crop that is continuously cultivated around the world. However, its production has decreased in recent times due to wide ranging insects and also current practices of using synthetic insecticides that are not precise and their residues impairing the biodiversity. Hence, the search for newer classes of efficient entomotoxic proteins continues. Genetically modified cotton crops with cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, have been cultivated across the world, which overcome the chewing type insect menace. In the present study, we assess the development of transgenic cotton plants by Agrobacterium, wherein the confirmed kanamycin resistant T 0 plants were advanced to T 1 generation and the gene integration was studied by molecular analysis. Western blot and ELISA assays demonstrated the expression of 0.46% lectin of the total soluble leaf proteins. In planta bioassay showed 69% of aphid, Aphis gossypii population reduction with T 1 generation plants. Whereas 100% insect mortality is occurred in Spodoptera litura larvae by 96 h. Present findings shows the potent insecticidal effect of Sclerotium rolfsii lectin on sucking (homopteran) and chewing (lepidopteron) insects, underlining its significance and strengthening genetic resources in cotton breeding against different order insect pests.