miRNA Mediated Whitefly resistance in Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum)

Cotton being a cash crop contributes significantly to foreign exchange earnings.Presently cotton crop is threatened by the attack of insects and viruses like whitely and cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV). To overcome this problem different genetic engineering techniques are being adopted. Among them RNA interference based resistance has proven to be reliable approach. RNA interference is a complex and conserved mechanism utilized by plants and other eukaryotes to protect themselves. The use of RNA interference provides environmental friendly approach to generate plants resistant to insects and viruses. In this research work the miRNA was designed to target three important housekeeping genes of whitefly which are Sex lethal gene (Sxl), Orcokinin gene (ORC) and Acetycholine esterase (AchE) genes. Agrobacterium mediated transformation was used to transform the miRNA construct into elite cotton varieties and the presence of transgene was confirmed through different molecular biology techniques.The successful integration of artificial miRNA based gene in cotton varieties and its expression and effective functioning against whitefly gives hope of promising future of cotton.