Compositions and methods to control insect pests

Abstract

Methods and compositions are provided which employ a silencing element that, when ingested by a pest, such as a Coleopteran plant pest or a Diabrotica plant pest, decrease the expression of a target sequence in the pest. In specific embodiments, the decrease in expression of the target sequence controls the pest and thereby the methods and compositions are capable of limiting damage to a plant. The present invention provides various target polynucleotides set forth in any one of SEQ ID NOS: 1-236 or active variants and fragments thereof, wherein a decrease in expression of one or more the sequences in the target pest controls the pest (i.e., has insecticidal activity). Further provided are silencing elements which when ingested by the pest decrease the level of the target polypeptide and thereby control the pest. In specific embodiment, the pest is D. virgifera virgifera, D. barberi, D. speciosa, or D. undecimpunctata howardi. Plants, plant part, bacteria and other host cells comprising the silencing elements or an active variant or fragment thereof of the invention are also provided.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 330,484, filed on May 3, 2010 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 237,880, filed Aug. 28, 2009, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to methods of molecular biology and gene silencing to control pests.REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED AS A TEXT FILE VIA EFS-WEB[0003]The official copy of the sequence listing is submitted concurrently with the specification as a text file via EFS-Web, in compliance with the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), with a file name of 391924SEQLIST.txt, a creation date of Aug. 25, 2010 and a size of 306 Kb. The sequence listing filed via EFS-Web is part of the specification and is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Insect pests are a serious pro...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]In another embodiment, a method for controlling a pest, such as a Coleopteran plant pest or a Diabrotica plant pest, is provided. The method comprises feeding to a pest a composition comprising a silencing element, wherein the silencing element, when ingested by the pest, reduces the level of a target sequence in the pest and thereby controls the pest. Further provided are methods to protect a plant from a pest. Such methods comprise introducing into the plant or plant part a silencing element of the invention. When the plant expressing the silencing element is ingested by the pest, the level of the target sequence is decreased and the pest is controlled.

Problems solved by technology

Insect pests are a serious problem in agriculture.

They destroy millions of acres of staple crops such as corn, soybeans, peas, and cotton.

Yearly, these pests cause over $100 billion dollars in crop damage in the U.S. alone.

However, these Bt insecticidal proteins only protect plants from a relatively narrow range of pests.

Moreover, these modes of insecticidal activity provided varying levels of specificity and, in some cases, caused significant environmental consequences.

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