Genetically Modified Nudiviruses for Sterile Insect Pest Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

The increasing resistance of insect pests to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins threatens the sustainability of Bt crops, necessitating new methods for pest control that do not rely on conventional pesticides or transgenic technologies.

Innovation Solution

Genetically modified nudiviruses capable of causing sterility in target insect populations are developed, allowing for the control of pest populations through sexual transmission, which can be used in combination with or without traditional pesticides, particularly effective against Bt-resistant insects.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If Bt toxins are used to control lepidopteran pests, then pest control efficacy is improved, but insect resistance develops over time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepest control efficacyVSAvoidinsect resistance

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using lethal toxins that kill pests, the patent uses a virus modified to cause sterility, inverting the control mechanism from direct mortality to reproductive suppression. This approaches the problem from the opposite direction, avoiding the resistance issue by not selecting for survival traits.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent modifies the nudivirus by deleting specific genes (pag1, ORF90, ORF92) that are required for viral latency and reproduction. This gene deletion changes the viral parameters to create a sterilizing effect rather than a lethal one, and the modification can be transmitted through sexual reproduction to spread sterility through the population.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If conventional pesticides are used to control pest populations, then immediate pest suppression is achieved, but environmental harm and pesticide resistance increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepest suppression speedVSAvoidenvironmental harm

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses a genetically modified virus as an intermediary biological agent to transmit sterility through sexual reproduction. This intermediary approach replaces direct pesticide application with a biological vector that naturally spreads through the pest population, reducing environmental harm while achieving population suppression.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The sterilizing virus utilizes the pest population's own reproductive behavior to spread the sterility trait. Infected insects naturally mate and transmit the virus to offspring, allowing the system to self-propagate without external intervention, replacing mechanical pesticide application with self-sustaining biological control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Object-affected harmful factors

If transgenic Bt crops are deployed worldwide, then pest damage is reduced, but Bt resistance in pest populations increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecrop damageVSAvoidBt toxin efficacy

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary sterilizing action to pest populations before they can develop resistance to Bt toxins. By reducing the overall population through sterility, the selective pressure for resistance development is diminished, preserving the long-term efficacy of Bt crops.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent converts the harmful effect of high pest reproduction into a benefit by using that reproductive activity to spread sterility. The very mechanism that allows pests to multiply rapidly becomes the vector for transmitting sterilizing genes, turning the population's reproductive strength against itself.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS11591575B2Compositions and methods for pest control management

Publication Date: 2023.02.28 LEPIDEXT

AI summary

Disclosed are genetically modified nudiviruses capable of being sexually transmitted by an insect useful for controlling pest populations. The genetically modified nudiviruses are capable of causing sterility in a target population of insects. Also disclosed are insects infected with the disclosed genetically modified nudiviruses, methods of making the genetically modified nudiviruses, and methods of using the genetically modified nudiviruses to control an insect pest population.