Maize CRW1 Protein Expression for Corn Rootworm Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing corn rootworms in maize crops are inadequate, as they have shown resistance to various control measures, including insecticides and genetically introduced resistance genes, necessitating new mechanisms for integrated pest management.
Innovation Solution
The expression of CRW1 polynucleotides in maize plants to increase resistance to herbivory by Coleopteran and Lepidopteran pests, specifically through gene shuffling or molecular breeding to introduce variants that enhance resistance, such as the crw1-Ac mutant allele, which upregulates jasmonic acid biosynthesis and reduces green leaf volatile gene expression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional control measures (insecticides, cultural practices, existing resistance genes) are used to manage corn rootworms, then some level of pest control is achieved, but corn rootworm insects have evolved resistance to these measures, reducing their effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a novel resistance mechanism by expressing heterologous polypeptides (Crw1, Crw2, Crw3, Crw4, Crw5, Crw6, Crw7, Crw8, Crw9, Crw10, Crw11, Crw12, Crw13, Crw14, Crw15, Crw16, Crw17, Crw18, Crw19, Crw20, Crw21, Crw22, Crw23, Crw24, Crw25, Crw26, Crw27, Crw28, Crw29, Crw30, Crw31, Crw32, Crw33, Crw34, Crw35, Crw36, Crw37, Crw38, Crw39, Crw40, Crw41, Crw42, Crw43, Crw44, Crw45, Crw46, Crw47, Crw48, Crw49, Crw50, Crw51, Crw52, Crw53, Crw54, Crw55, Crw56, Crw57, Crw58, Crw59, Crw60, Crw61, Crw62, Crw63, Crw64, Crw65, Crw66, Crw67, Crw68, Crw69, Crw70, Crw71, Crw72, Crw73, Crw74, Crw75, Crw76, Crw77, Crw78, Crw79, Crw80, Crw81, Crw82, Crw83, Crw84, Crw85, Crw86, Crw87, Crw88, Crw89, Crw90, Crw91, Crw92, Crw93, Crw94, Crw95, Crw96, Crw97, Crw98, Crw99, Crw100) from non-maize sources in maize plants. This fundamentally changes the resistance mechanism from conventional approaches, preventing cross-resistance while maintaining reliability of pest control.
2Reliability
If new resistance mechanisms are introduced into maize plants, then resistance to corn rootworm is improved, but the complexity of the genetic modification process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs universal promoter sequences (such as CaMV 35S promoter, ubiquitin promoter, or actin promoter) that can drive the expression of any heterologous polypeptide gene in maize plants. This multi-functional approach allows the same promoter infrastructure to be used across multiple different resistance genes (Crw1-Crw100), simplifying the overall genetic modification process while maintaining high resistance reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and compositions for increasing a plant's resistance to an insect pest such as the corn rootworm are provided. Methods are provided for overexpression of Crw1, or variants thereof, in a host plant or plant cell to increase resistance to an insect pest in a plant such as maize. Moreover, methods are provided for identifying variants of Crw1 that when incorporated into a plant via transgenic or traditional breeding means increase resistance to an insect pest in a plant such as maize.