Modified Cry1Ca insecticial Cry proteins

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9284573-B2
Application number	US-201013516622-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2010
Priority date	Dec 16, 2009
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

The present invention includes modified, insecticidal B.t. Cry1Ca proteins, including the proteins designated herein as DIG-109 and DIG-152, as well as variants of DIG-109 and DIG-152, nucleic acids encoding these proteins, methods of controlling pests using the proteins, methods of producing the proteins in transgenic host cells, and transgenic plants that produce the proteins. The DIG-109 and DIG-152 proteins comprise chimeric peptides composed of a core toxin segment of B.t. Cry1Ca and a Cry1Ab protoxin segment. Insecticidally active variants of the DIG-109 and DIG-152 proteins are also described.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A Cry1Ca variant protein that has insecticidal activity, in which all or part of N-terminal alpha helices 1, 2A, and/or 2B of a corresponding wild-type Cry1Ca are deleted, wherein said protein is at least 99% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of: SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO:5.

2. The variant protein of claim 1 wherein deletions remove all of α-helix 1 and all or part of α-helix 2 in Domain I, said protein comprising α-helices 3 through 7.

3. The variant protein of claim 1 wherein said deletions improve insecticidal activity of insecticidal protein DIG-109, wherein said deletions initiate before α-helix 2A start and terminate after α-helix 2B end but do not extend into α-helix 3.

4. The variant protein of claim 1 wherein said deletions improve insecticidal activity of insecticidal protein DIG-152, wherein said deletions initiate before α-helix 2A start and terminate after α-helix 2B end but do not extend into α-helix 3.

5. The variant protein of claim 1 wherein N-terminal deletions begin with at least one destabilizing amino acids, and said protein comprises an added codon that specifies a glycine amino acid between a translational initiation methionine and the destabilizing amino acid.

6. The variant protein of claim 1 wherein said protein lacks C-terminal protoxin sequence.

7. The protein of claim 1 , wherein said protein has improved activity against an insect compared to the wild-type Cry1Ca protein.

8. The protein of claim 7 wherein said insect is selected from the group consisting of fall armyworm and sugarcane borer.

9. The protein of claim 1 , wherein said protein is at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO:3.

10. The protein of claim 1 , wherein said protein is at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO:5.

11. The protein of claim 9 , wherein said protein comprises SEQ ID NO:3.

12. The protein of claim 10 , wherein said protein comprises SEQ ID NO:5.

Assignees

• Meade Thomas
• Burton Stephanie L
• Narva Kenneth
• Woosley Aaron T
• Hey Timothy D
• Larrinua Ignacio M
• Dow Agrosciences Llc

Inventors

• Meade Thomas
• Burton Stephanie L
• Narva Kenneth
• Woosley Aaron T
• Hey Timothy D
• Larrinua Ignacio M

Classifications

• C12N15/8286 Primary

  for insect resistance · CPC title

• C07K14/325 Primary

  Bacillus thuringiensis crystal peptides, i.e. delta-endotoxins · CPC title

• Y02A40/146

  Genetically Modified [GMO] plants, e.g. transgenic plants · CPC title

• A01N25/00

  Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators, characterised by their forms, or by their non-active ingredients or by their methods of application {, e.g. seed treatment or sequential application}; Substances for reducing the noxious effect of the active ingredients to organisms other than pests · CPC title