Bt brinjal NGO's spoke on the topic - the then Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, facilitated a moratorium on its release until further, unspecified, tests were conducted. Bt brinjal was approved for commercial release in Bangladesh in 2013. Mahyco licensed and used the "cry1Ac" gene obtained from Monsanto and two supporting genes ("nptII" and "aad"). The "cry1Ac" gene is under the transcriptional control of an enhanced cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter, which ensures the gene is expressed in all the brinjal's tissue throughout its complete life cycle. "NptII" and "aad" are selectable marker genes, "nptII" is used to identify transgenic plants
Vegetable Lamb of Tartary that sleeps by day And wakes at night, though rooted in the ground, To feed on grass within its reach around.</poem> Vegetable Lamb of Tartary The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (Latin: "Agnus scythicus" or "Planta Tartarica Barometz") is a legendary zoophyte of Central Asia, once believed to grow sheep as its fruit. It was believed the sheep were connected to the plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the land around the plant. When all accessible foliage was gone, both the plant and sheep died. Underlying the legend is the cotton plant, which was unknown in Northern Europe before the