Our new GENETICS paper on the genetic basis of Bt toxin resistance in Helicoverpa zea is out

Very happy to see our paper on uncovering a novel candidate gene (Kinesin-12) associated with the resistance to the Bt toxin Cry1Ac in the agricultural pest Helicoverpa zea is out in GENETICS (https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyac037). This paper had it all, a de novo chromosome level assembly of H. zea, bulk segregant analysis of Cry1Ac resistance followed by fine-scale mapping, RNAseq analysis of H. zea guts to support identification of candidate, and population analysis. This lead to the identification of Kinesin-12, a gene not previously linked to Bt toxin resistance, as a significant contributor to Cry1Ac resistance in this important agricultural pest. This was a wonderful collaborative project lead by lab postdoc, Dr. Kyle Benowitz (currently an Assistant Professor at Austin Peay State University). Lab manager Carson Allan was also instrumental in the success of the project. This project would not have been possible without the other members of the Helicoverpa team, Dr. Bruce Tabashnik (UA Entomology), Dr. Yves Carriere (UA Entomology), Dr. Jeff Fabrick (USDA ARS), Dr. Xianchun Li (UA Entomology), Ben Degain (Carriere lab).