Mani cultivates three different variants of Bt cotton, labeled A, B, and C, on his farm. After a few months, his crops experience a severe infestation of cotton bollworms, leading to significant damage. Mani carefully observes and documents the extent of the damage to his crops, as depicted in the graph provided below.
Which of the following conclusion could be drawn from this graph?
Variants A and C express the cryIAb gene.
Variants A and C express the cryIAc gene.
Variants B express the cryIAb gene.
Variants B express the cryIAc gene.
The expression of cryIAb gene in variant B of Bt cotton confers resistance to the corn borer, protecting the plants from damage caused by the pest. As a result, variant B remains unaffected by the corn borer infestation due to the presence of cryIAb gene expression.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.