Insects feeding on this corn develop a biotin deficiency that leads to delayed development and toxicity. Avidin is a rather unique biopesticide because it is a human dietary protein found in one of nature's most nutritious creations, the chicken egg. Avidin is effective as a biopesticide in transgenic grain at only a fraction of the level present in eggs. This is one of the few new ideas for use of transgenic plant biotechnology for insect pest management and has egg-citing possibilities. See Kramer, K. J., Morgan, T. D., Throne, J. E., Dowell, F. E., Bailey, M. and Howard, J. A. 2000.
Transgenic maize expressing avidin is resistant to storage insect pests.