Single-Locus Nucleic Acid Molecule for Multi-Trait Insect Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling corn rootworm pests in agriculture rely heavily on chemical pesticides, which can harm beneficial organisms and lead to resistance issues, and the stacking of transgenic traits in plants to combat resistance is complex and requires multiple breeding steps.
Innovation Solution
A nucleic acid molecule that expresses both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab genes, integrated at a single locus in a transgenic plant, providing enhanced insecticidal properties and herbicide tolerance, simplifying the introduction of multiple insecticidal traits into a single germplasm variety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple transgenic traits are stacked through breeding and screening to get multiple insecticidal traits in a single commercial germplasm, then insect control effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and breeding time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple insecticidal traits (Cry3A and Cry34/Cry35 complex) into a single nucleic acid molecule that can be introduced at one locus in the plant genome. This merging of multiple traits into a single molecular construct eliminates the need for complex multi-step breeding procedures while maintaining effective insect control through multiple modes of action.
Solution Approach 2:
The nucleic acid molecule serves multiple functions simultaneously: it encodes multiple insecticidal proteins with different modes of action, provides herbicide tolerance through integrated expression cassettes, and can be introduced into various germplasm varieties at a single locus. This multi-functionality reduces the overall complexity of trait stacking across different crop varieties.
2Reliability
If multiple transgenic traits are stacked through breeding and screening, then insect control effectiveness is improved, but loss of time in breeding process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple insecticidal traits are pre-combined into a single nucleic acid molecule before introduction into the plant genome. This preliminary integration of multiple functions into one construct eliminates subsequent breeding steps and screening processes, significantly reducing the time required to develop multi-trait germplasm varieties.
3Reliability
If transgenic traits are stacked in a single plant to reduce resistance breakdown, then reliability against resistance is improved, but genetic linkage of undesirable traits complicates the process
Solution Approach 1:
The nucleic acid molecule is designed as a self-contained unit with internally organized expression cassettes for different insecticidal traits and herbicide tolerance genes. This segmentation allows the multiple traits to be inherited together as a single unit without being affected by genetic linkage to undesirable traits in the host genome, simplifying the introduction process across different germplasm varieties.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The present invention is drawn to a nucleic acid sequence which confers expression of the insecticidal proteins mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab when introduced into a cell.