Bt rice: benefits and challenges

摘要

Los Banios, Philippines — "Bt rice" is rice that has been modified, by means of biotechnology, with genes to produce toxins for insect resistance. The source of the toxin genes is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) a common bacterium found throughout much of the world. In 1996, seeds for Bt cotton, Bt maize, and Bt potato became available to farmers in the US A for the first time, and these crops are now growing in the field. The first Bt rice plants were produced by researchers in Japan in 1991.