A chimeric gene, Bt29K, composed of coding sequences of activated Cry1Ac insecticidal protein and an endoplasm reticulum-retarding signal peptide, was synthesized. A plant expression vector containing two expression cassettes for the Bt29K and API-B genes was constructed. These two insect-resistant genes were transferred into two cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties ( or lines) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and nine homozygous transgenic cotton lines showing a mortality of 90.0% - 99.7% to cotton ballworm (Heliothis armigera) larvae and good agronomic traits were selected through six generations. Molecular biology analysis revealed that one or two copies of the insecticidal protein genes were integrated into the transgenic cotton genome and activated Cry1Ac and API-B protein expression was at a level of 0.17% and 0.09% of the total soluble protein in the transgenic cotton leaves, respectively. Comparison of the insect-resistance of the homozygous lines expressing the activated chimeric Cry1Ac and API-B with that expressing Cry1Ac only revealed that the insect-resistance of the former is apparently higher than the latter. These results also indicate that the strategy to construct a plant expression vector expressing two different insect-resistant genes reported here is reasonable.
