Novel Insecticidal Proteins for Corn Rootworm Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling corn rootworms, such as chemical pesticides, face challenges like environmental impact, resistance development, and difficulty in targeting underground larvae, necessitating the need for alternative and environmentally friendly pest control mechanisms with a different mode of action.
Innovation Solution
Development of novel insecticidal proteins, LachbCRW and its variants, expressed in transgenic plants or microorganisms, which are toxic to corn rootworms and other economically important insect pests, offering a new mode of action and reduced environmental burden.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical pesticides are applied to control corn rootworms, then pest control effectiveness is improved, but environmental harm and resistance development increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical structure parameters of insecticidal compounds by developing novel analogs with modified molecular configurations. This structural parameter change enables improved pest control effectiveness while reducing environmental toxicity and resistance development, directly addressing the contradiction between control effectiveness and environmental harm
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite insecticidal formulations combining multiple active ingredients with different modes of action. This composite approach enhances overall pest control reliability while reducing the environmental burden on individual chemical components, thereby mitigating both effectiveness and environmental harm concerns
2Reliability
If chemical pesticides are applied to control corn rootworms, then pest control effectiveness is improved, but resistance development in insects increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic pest management strategies using insecticidal compounds with multiple modes of action that can be rotated or combined. This dynamic approach prevents insects from adapting to a single static chemical target, thereby maintaining long-term susceptibility while preserving control effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies chemical parameters to create novel insecticidal analogs with different binding mechanisms and modes of action. These parameter changes ensure that insects cannot develop resistance through conventional adaptation, maintaining stable susceptibility while achieving reliable pest control
3Reliability
If rescue treatments of insecticides are applied to cornfields, then pest control effectiveness is improved, but application difficulty increases due to underground larvae
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables preliminary application of insecticidal compounds to soil or seed treatments before corn rootworm larvae establish themselves. This preliminary action allows the chemicals to be positioned in advance where larvae will feed, eliminating the need for difficult rescue treatments after larvae are already underground
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses soil and plant tissues as intermediaries to deliver insecticidal compounds to underground larvae. Rather than directly applying treatments to hidden larvae, the chemical intermediaries in soil and plant roots naturally transfer the insecticide to feeding larvae, greatly simplifying application while maintaining effectiveness
4Reliability
If intensive applications of chemical pesticides are made prophylactically at planting, then pest control effectiveness is improved, but environmental burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of insecticidal compounds to create highly effective analogs that require lower application rates. This parameter optimization reduces the total quantity of substance needed for prophylactic treatment, thereby maintaining control effectiveness while reducing environmental burden from excessive chemical applications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent develops insecticidal compounds with optimized potency that can be applied at lower concentrations and potentially decompose more rapidly in the environment. This approach replaces intensive, long-persisting chemical applications with lighter, shorter-lived treatments that maintain effectiveness while reducing cumulative environmental burden
Data Source
AI summary
Compositions and methods for controlling plant pests are disclosed. In particular, novel insecticidal proteins having toxicity Coleopteran and/or Lepidopteran insect pests are provided. Nucleic acid molecules encoding the novel insecticidal proteins are also provided. Methods of making the insecticidal proteins and methods of using the insecticidal proteins and nucleic acids encoding the insecticidal proteins of the invention, for example in transgenic plants to confer protection from insect damage, are also disclosed.