Abstract:Many important crops have been genetically engineered to produce various proteins, such as Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin, to increase their resistance to pests. The fate and persistence of insecticidal protein in transgenetic plants in the soil is an important issue because of possible direct and indirect effects of these insecticidal proteins on soil organisms. In addition, there is the potential for prolonged exposure of soil organisms to the insecticidal protein because of possible plant residue remai...