• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1614-1620
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• 2012

Transgenic rice plants with increased resistance to rice brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens St${\aa}$l) were generated by particle bombardment-mediated transformation of plants with a gene encoding snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) under control of the rice Rubisco small subunit (rbcS) promoter.. A large number of transgenic rice plants containing the GNA gene were generated. The integration, expression, and inheritance of this gene in the $R_1$ and $R_2$ generations were demonstrated by Southern and western blot analyses. The plants contained one to five copies of the transgene. The GNA protein comprised approximately 0.01-2.0% of total soluble protein in the $R_1$ and $R_2$ transgenic plants. Insect bioassays and feeding studies showed that the GNA protein expressed in the $R_2$ transgenic rice plants reduced the survival of brown planthoppers. The introduction of GNA into rice plants therefore can help to control insect pests.